


Feel the Bonds

by amycoolz, SylviaW1991



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Blowjobs, Buttstuff, I'm bad at tags, M/M, Shower Sex, allura is best mom, and his bajillion siblings, but keith's there, gays in space, handjobs, he's sad okay, hunk is presh, i'm sorry about these tags, keith is definitely there, lance misses his earth mom, pidge is a shit, shiro is space dad, spanish!lance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-10
Updated: 2016-09-14
Packaged: 2018-08-07 19:57:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 53,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7727824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amycoolz/pseuds/amycoolz, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SylviaW1991/pseuds/SylviaW1991
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being a paladin of Voltron is honestly the coolest thing that ever could've happened to Lance, but the people who should know probably never will. What could his family possibly think of him being gone for so long? But he can't think about them. He can't. He has to defend the universe and apologize to Keith for being a dick to him. Again. And, holy crow, is Keith checking him out? Please?</p><p>(We're bad at titles, summaries, and tags. We're so sorry.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

His family wouldn't know if he lived or died. His family didn't even know where he was. Nearly a week after nearly flying straight into an exploding sun and having the castle literally try to kill him - kill him twice! - it was all Lance could really think about. Like a nasty loop of a really annoying song he couldn't turn off. Mom, dad, mom, siblings, mom- god, he really missed his mom. It was kind of pathetic. But his mom was great. Warm hugs, attention despite a bajillion other kids in the house, always willing to listen when he had to call her and ramble about how hard the garrison really was and why he kind of wanted to drop out, but he would never because the family needed him, and-

Lance pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes, trying not to groan. His family needed him to become a pilot and help bring in a paycheck and school at the academy was really expensive and he was not succeeding in staving off his groan. Even if he went back to Earth, he'd never get back into school. There was video feed of him helping break Shiro out of quarantine and then the stupid chase sequence where they'd gone off a cliff. What if there was video of them going off the cliff? Maybe his mom thought he was dead already. Oh, no. What if they'd told her that he was a fugitive? Was he a fugitive?! If he went back to Earth would they, like, arrest him? Would they arrest all of them?

He could see the news bulletin in his head - _Defenders of the universe, wanted fugitives._ Hilarious, yeah. Hahaha - he wasn't actually laughing. His stomach actually kinda hurt. His family already generally saw him as the screw-up - mom notwithstanding. The number one thing he'd been trying to avoid was proving them right. What had he done instead? He'd become a fugitive back home and a super secret legendary defender in deep space.

So his family wouldn't know if he lived or died. His family didn't even know where he was. They might not even want him to come back.

Oh. Great. Now he had a whole new verse to the song. Add some pain into the sorrow - no problem. He could handle it. Ace pilot Lance could handle anything. Anything at all.

“What are you doing in here?”

He jolted, falling right off the cushion only to look up and see Pidge. He - she - they? Was it they? His mind was too scrambled to worry about gender pronouns, and Pidge never seemed to care what they called him - her - them. His head hurt. “Hi, Pidge!" He winced, his voice a little too loud even to his own ears. “I mean. Y'know. Hey, Pidge.”

“Hi, Lance.” She adjusted her glasses. “So... what are you doing down here?”

Suffering. Thinking about begging Blue to just take him home. More suffering. “Thinking. About stuff.”

“That sounds painful.”

He almost laughed, but his smile was forced enough as it was. Pidge didn't know the half of it, and was the last person Lance could really whine about wanting to go home to. She was staying in space until her family was found, no matter what. Did her mom know that she'd snuck into the garrison?

Oh, geez, what was his hang-ups with moms right now?

He sighed, climbing back onto the cushions in what basically served as the main living room. There was more than one in the vast Castle of Lions, but this was the cool one. It was closest to the kitchen and their stuff. At least what little stuff they had.

His family would've loved-

“So what'd you want, Pidge?”

“Well, I'm still waiting for you to tell me why you're in here.”

“I'm thinking. About home,” he sighed when she only continued to gaze at him. “Family and- and stuff.”

“Oh. So not your fight with Keith?”

_“If you weren't so distracted all the time, maybe we'd get hit less!”_

Lance cringed. Thinking about family had nearly downed them for good during their latest tussle with a Galra warship, and Keith hadn't exactly taken his lame excuse well. To be fair, he probably wouldn't have taken his excuse well either. Lens flare! Who got distracted by lens flare? Sure, he had a nice disposition towards ADHD, but still. It was an awful, panicked sort of excuse and even Shiro had given him a disbelieving Dad Look. It hadn't helped his family thoughts at all, and the way Keith threw a punch reminded him of his brother Hector wide but still somehow sharp - and he hadn't even ducked. No one had been more surprised when the blow had landed than the one throwing it.

_“What is your problem?!”_

_“I don't have a problem. I'm perfect. Right as rain. You remember rain, right? Or does being an orphan make it easy for you to just abandon everything?”_

Lance covered his eyes and groaned again. “Okay, so now I'm also thinking of the fight. Thanks, Pidge. I'd moved beyond that shouting match, but y'know, I kinda missed it. Having his angry voice in my head is just great.”

“You threw your helmet at him.”

“Yeah. Thanks. I remember.”

She rocked back on her heels. “You know there aren't supposed to be secrets between us.”

“Yeah, okay, _Katie_. Whatever.” There was a long moment of silence wherein Lance finally dropped his hands and sat bolt upright to gape at her. “Oh my god. I'm sorry, Pidge. Wow! Just- wow.” He fell back again, scrubbing his hands over his face. “Oh, man.”

Pidge folded her arms across her chest, ultimately deciding not to take offense. “You know, I don't actually think I've ever heard you apologize for anything.”

“Yeah, well, that was just... wrong. Okay? I'm not _that_ insensitive.”

“Maybe.”

He tsked. “Come on, Pidge.”

“Look, calling Keith an orphan like that and saying he doesn't care about Earth or anyone else was a really wrong thing to do too. You know Keith cares about us.”

Lance didn't quite have a comeback to that, choosing to roll over and press his face into the cushions instead. He knew that. He knew it had been wrong. He knew throwing his helmet at him was wrong. It was all just wrong. But he just wanted to call his freaking mom. Why was that so impossible?

“Maybe,” Pidge was saying, “you should take this new apologetic spirit and go see Keith.”

He groaned.

“He took your helmet.”

He groaned again.

“Lance, don't be a baby. Go get your helmet. Allura made her I'm-worried-royalty face and Shiro promised you guys would sort this out. If he has to get involved, neither of you are going to like it.”

This time when he groaned, it was followed by a roll off the cushions. “Okay, okay. Fine. He'd probably lock us in one of the crazy cryo-tube things anyway.”

She scoffed. “Somehow I don’t think you'd mind that.”

“What's that supposed to mean?”

Pidge’s brows lifted. “I'm younger than you, not dumber.”

Lance frowned, brow furrowing as he went passed her to go find Keith. Probably pouting in his room like a big baby. He had the lips for it. Not that- not that Lance had looked at his lips. Much. Ever.

...Much.

But Lance was totally straight. He was at least, like, forty percent sure. Maybe it had been one hundred percent sure - okay ninety... maybe eighty. There had been that one guy he'd made out with on a dancefloor once and the girl who had ended up being a guy, and they'd already been kissing, so why waste the moment? The point was he'd been at least seventy percent sure that he was straight before all this Voltron stuff, but things changed. And it had nothing to do with Keith’s nice lips or his dumb, probably very grippable mullet. Or his legs in black jeans that were just a hair too tight.

Maybe he was thirty percent sure of being totally straight.

Annoyed with himself, and maybe a little glad for the annoyance after the throat-clogging despair he'd been bogged down with lately, he rapped on Keith’s door.

No answer.

He knocked again, frowning. “Keith! Pidge said you've got my helmet!” He leaned against the door, huffing when there wasn’t an answer. “Keith, come on!”

The door _wooshed_ open to reveal a scowling Keith, Lance’s helmet in hand. “Here.” He thrust it at Lance, letting go and not waiting around to see if he was going to catch it. His voice filtered through the now closed door, “Now go away.”

Lance scowled, just barely keeping a hold of the helmet. Pidge seriously wanted him to apologize to this guy? Seriously?! He paced away, but only made it five steps before coming back. “Sorry I... About the orphan... stuff. I didn't mean it. Okay?”

Keith opened the door again with a heavy sigh, leaning against the jamb. “You make it really hard to forgive you, Lance. What you said was very hurtful; I thought we were getting past all of that…”

“What? With that moment you think we had?” The tease fell flat, and so did his grin. Lance huffed, shuffling his feet. “Look, I know it was low. I said sorry, okay? I even meant it. I'm even sorry for... for being crap on the mission thing today. Okay? Are we good?”

“I-sure, Lance.” He really didn't feel like fighting anymore. “We're good.”

Lance waited for more, half-sure it was a trap of some sort. “Uh. Okay. Do, um...” It was uncomfortable how easy this was. Not really a win. “Come on. Let's go find Hunk’s stash of food not-goo.”

Keith pushed himself off the wall, following Lance down the hallway a couple steps behind with his hands shoved into his pockets. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't trying to stare at Lance's ass the entire time, his eyes practically glued to it. But damn did Lance have a nice ass.

He looked back, oblivious to the placement of Keith's gaze. As much bravado as he had, he wasn't exactly used to positive attention. “Come on, Keith. Don’t drag behind. Seriously.” 

“I'll walk however I want, thank you,” he countered, but sped up to match Lance's pace anyway. He glanced down between them at Lance's hand, swinging slightly while they walked. He got a strong urge to reach out and grab it; instead, he shoved his own further into his pockets. “What's your problem anyway?” he blurted, wincing at his own tone. He sighed again, something he seemed to do in excess anytime he was around the other paladin. 

Lance stopped, nearly tripping over his own feet. “Nothing. What? Nothing’s wrong. Pssh. I'm awesome.” But his hands went into the pockets of his jacket. Sort of. Only one made it because of the helmet, which just made the whole move an awkward mess. “Yeah. Totally awesome. That's me.”

Keith paused a few steps in front. He turned around and raised an eyebrow at Lance's pose, a small smile flitting across his lips for a split second. “Uh-huh. I didn't mean for it to come out that way. I just want you to be honest with me.” He stared at Lance's feet a few moments, mumbled, “Have I made you angry somehow?”

It was an easy out. From day one, he'd looked at Keith and had seen a rival. All the talent behind his big mouth was nothing short of enviable and still was. So he could absolutely fall back on the excuse, but even he couldn’t deny that they'd come a long way since that first day at the garrison. He dragged his hand through his hair, keeping his helmet tucked under his arm. “No. You- you’re fine. You didn’t do anything.”

“Then why have you been acting like such a jerk?” Crossing his arms over his chest, he glared at the wall next to Lance. “Just when I'm beginning to not dislike you, you go and ruin it with your stupid attitude.”

Lance averted his gaze, the toe of his shoe thumping against the wall. “It doesn’t actually matter. It's nothing that can change because we're doing the Voltron thing.”

“Well… d’you wanna talk about it?”

“I don’t know.” Lance walked into the kitchen, setting the helmet down. He knew exactly where Hunk hid the choice food, so it wasn’t much of a search. But he wasn't very hungry, choosing instead to lean against the counter. “Maybe?”

“Look, I don’t wanna make you uncomfortable, so if you don’t want to talk about it that’s fine.” Keith hopped up onto the counter and stared down at Lance. “But we’re teammates, possibly even friends, so, I mean, I’ll listen.”

His shoulders hunched, arms crossing over his chest. “It's just... So, like, I have seven siblings.”

“And you miss them, right?”

“No! Well, I mean, yes. Obviously. But it's not just like- I almost died! Like... seven days ago, I almost get frozen solid and then I almost got sucked into space. And that's in the place that's supposed to be _safe_! Like I know I almost died when Sendak set off an exploding Rover decoy, but that was totally different. I don’t really remember that. Just shoving Coran out of the way and then _wa-blam_!” He threw his hands up when he made the sound effect, his normal dramatic self. “But the sucked into space thing, I remember. And that was the single most terrifying thing ever because I didn’t have my lion. I didn't have the bayard. I didn't even have the suit. I was just, like, me!”

He spun towards Keith, gesturing to himself. “Just me! And that's not cool, man! Because who's gonna tell my brothers and sisters - who's gonna tell my _mom_ that I died? If we don’t beat the Galra, if we don’t win, I'm... They're never gonna know, Keith. They're never gonna know that I'm out here trying to help save the whole universe. They're only gonna know that I helped bust Shiro out of lockdown, flew off some cliff, and disappeared. No one in my family knows, and...” And he was still, _still_ , just the family screw-up. “Yeah, I miss them. But I really, seriously hate that they're only going to remember the worst parts of me.”

Keith jumped off the counter, grabbed Lance’s hands. “Lance, I can’t even begin to understand what you must be going through, but we’re all gonna get through this, okay? We’re going to defeat Zarkon and the Galra empire and then we’re going home. I believe in you; now it’s time for you to believe in yourself.”

Lance blinked, quickly looking down at their hands. The fingerless gloves were a weird texture, half hidden, half intimate. Just normal bare hands would've felt less bizarre. But he didn’t pull them away, embarrassed because he wanted a stupid hug and the hand-holding was as close as they were going to get. “I just... We're awesome. The team. Voltron’s awesome. This whole thing’s crazy amazing. It's just... I want my family to know I'm more than a fugitive and class clown. Like I'm not _just_ a pilot because the actual talent walked out.”

“They’ll know. When we get back to Earth, everyone will know.” Realizing they were still holding hands, Keith blushed and coughed, but didn’t let go. “And don’t sell yourself short. You might not be as good a pilot as me or Shiro, but you’re still pretty great.”

“Yeah, well...” Lance huffed out a laugh, almost biting his tongue when he looked up to see Keith’s blush. Oh. He hadn't known Keith could even do that. “Uh... Thanks. I mean, yeah, I guess I actually mean thanks. For listening. It's... nobody has a family like mine, so it's weird being isolated.”

“You’re welcome.” He finally dropped Lance’s hands, immediately missing their warmth. “And… anytime you wanna feel less isolated, you can come find me.”

Lance shoved his hands into his pockets, balling them into fists to preserve any lingering warmth from his touch. “I... yeah. I'll- I'll do that. So food, right? I'm starving!”

\----

His thirty percent had tanked. He was somewhere around ten now. Maybe five. Lance stepped out of the shower later that night and glanced almost guiltily at his own hand while praying to Space God that the walls were soundproof and that no one had heard him wail Keith’s name. No one had come busting in to see what the matter was, so he was pretty sure Space God was looking out.

He was also pretty sure that being five percent sure of his own straightness was a very high estimate.

Crap.

He was super duper gay. For _Keith_. Sure, maybe he'd thought about him while jerking off plenty of times - which was its own problem - but he'd never said his name! “Oh my god, he's nice to you for two genuine seconds and you lose your mind,” he said to the mirror. He didn’t know how it wasn’t steamed up, but didn’t care enough to find out. He was usually grateful as it meant he could get to his mountain of facial products without wiping down the mirror himself. Now it just gave him a chance to berate himself. “You are so, so Keith-gay! How are we supposed to go all Voltron in Blue if you're busy being Keith-gay? What is wrong with you?” he demanded.

If only Keith hadn't taken his hands. Or blushed. Or been nice and supportive.

And, hell, he'd been hot when he'd snapped the door open and shoved the helmet at him. All mad and narrow-eyed and - “No! We stayed in the shower way too long thinking about this!” He pointed at his towel-covered groin, expression surprisingly serious. “No.”

It took nearly twenty minutes for him to clean his face, feeling the need to pamper himself a little extra. Not for Keith. Except, yeah, it was totally for Keith. Not that he would care. Dumb Keith with his mullet and perfect legs and-

“Nyope!” Lance grabbed his pajamas off the counter and dressed quickly, exiting the bathroom to enter his room. His siblings would flip if they knew he had his own bathroom. Twelve people sharing three had always been its own kind of hell, but at least there was a system. And it had definitely prepared him for life at the garrison where a whole section of guys shared one community-style bathroom.

Okay, no, the garrison was way worse. At least at home he could have his products out. The guys at the academy would've stolen his stuff just out of spite.

Keith probably wouldn't have taken his stuff. “Oh, no. No. We are not thinking about him all night. Go back to being sad. We were good at that.” He slid beneath the sheets, picking up his sleep mask and his music. Only one bud went into his ear, a concession for Voltron. Once they'd saved the universe, he was going to sleep for twelve hours with his music on full blast and Keith right by his side, and there he went again. Thinking about Keith.

Lance covered his eyes with the mask, eyes closing. Darkness. Soothing, beautiful. It was great with his music playing and normally put him right to sleep, but would Keith be too hot against his side? He seemed like the kind of guy who'd radiate heat while he slept. He radiated heat normally, so why not? His hands would be hot, palms sweaty under the gloves. What would they feel like around his-?

“No. No, no, no.”

He had to get it together. Keith couldn’t keep invading his mind and heating his skin without even physically being there! Lance couldn't even roll over, skin care still settling on his face and the paladin entirely too vain to go a night without it, especially since he'd done a little extra.

Jerk. That incredibly hot jerk. He'd probably done it on purpose, being so nice and attractive just to make him squirm. And, oh, could Lance imagine making Keith squirm in turn. His mouth watered for how much he wanted to explore Keith’s everything.

The sheets tented, Lance groaning for about the millionth time that day. Five percent hit zero as he gave in and reached for the hand lotion no one knew about. He was totally unsure about being straight, genuinely considering the label of bisexual, and completely certain that he was Keith-gay.

And he was not getting any sleep that night.

\----

Stupid. _Stupid_. He was so stupid, oh my god. Lance was stupid, too, but mostly he was stupid.

“Why?” he asked his ceiling, hoping it held the answers to the questions he sought.

It didn't.

Rolling over in bed, Keith held his hands in front of his face, still wearing the stupid gloves because he now refused to take them off. They smelled like the hand lotion Keith knew Lance used that he thought nobody else knew about. He wondered what Lance would look like with a pair…

Except Lance’s fingers were too long and would look weird and gangly. And while most of the rest of him looked that way, those were two words that definitely did not describe his hands. Lance’s hands were perfect, fingers soft and slender. Keith wanted to hold them, like he had earlier, but for a longer time. And he wanted to lace their fingers together, wanted to bring them up to his mouth so he could kiss each digit.

“God dammit!” He turned over and punched his pillow. But why did he have to have a capital-T _Thing_ for Lance? He wasn’t upset that he was into a guy because, well, he’d known he was gay for a while now, since just before the garrison. He’d always had a type, though, and that type was never the Lance-type. Tall, gangly, and stupid. And annoying. So he couldn’t figure out why now all of a sudden he found the guy attractive. Lance talked too much and was generally annoying, especially with his shitty flirting techniques aimed at literally everything _but_ him.

They totally worked on Keith, though, and that was part of the main problem right there.

He flipped onto his back again, his sheets getting tangled around his legs and across his torso; he took a moment to believe that Lance was there with him, and that it was his legs he was tangled up in with an arm across his chest.

If only.

He continued to stare at the ceiling, thoughts of Lance zooming around in his brain, and not trying to stop them this time.

He never got to sleep.

\----

Lance took a rare morning shower, relieved that his late night wasn't punctuated with any crazy drills. He felt exhausted, but he refused to look that way. He wanted to look fresh and, well, he kind of wanted to look good to Keith. He'd decided at some point amid his soul searching to accept this newfound sexuality that honestly wasn’t very newfound at all. He just had no idea what Keith would find attractive. He had no idea if Keith had a thing for guys. What the heck did guys look for in other guys?

Apparently, he looked for a mullet and tight pants and a snarky attitude.

Sighing, Lance silently lamented the lack of a good hair dryer before striding out of his room. He did like the weird tubes that washed and dried their clothes every night. It was quick, silent, and almost made having to wear the exact same outfit basically every day worth it. Almost. How was he supposed to draw attention to himself if he couldn't look different? Then again, his ass looked pretty good in these jeans. There was a reason why he'd been ready to drag Hunk and Pidge out to a club in this outfit. And the weeks of training they'd been going through had definitely helped him fill out in that area.

Yeah, he knew he looked good. He'd been the baby doll to his older sisters long enough to pick up their moves. They'd taught him how to properly moisturize and how to flaunt his assets. In this case his very firm ass. And his smile wasn't bad either, whatever passed for toothpaste - he was afraid to ask Coran what was in it - keeping his teeth nice and white. He grinned, leaving his jacket draped over his chair and his t-shirt tucked in just enough to leave his butt open to perusal. He was a bit worried about coming off as a bottom, a little uncertain about his feelings on that. It would probably be enough to just get Keith's hands on him for the time being, yeah. And his eyes, right. Definitely wanted those eyes to capture that interest. Hands could come next. One step at a time.

Why couldn't flirting with Keith be as easy as flirting with girls?

He made his way towards the preferred dining room, a little surprised that he wasn't the last one who walked in. He normally was, but didn't even see Pidge wandering around. Maybe she was in the kitchen with Hunk? But Coran wasn't around either. Just Allura, Shiro... and Keith. His palms started to sweat. Oh, boy.

“Lance.”

His gaze shifted back to Shiro, leaned against the wall rather than seated with the other two, smile coming easy. “Morning, Shiro! Fearless leader, bud.” He meandered over, unsure if Keith's gaze was actually on him or if the burn he felt from them was his own wishful thinking. “What's up?”

Allura set her cup of what might've been some kind of tea down. “You certainly seem in higher spirits this morning.”

He faltered a bit, most of his higher spirits bravado and hope. But he dropped down in the seat beside Keith, trying not to fidget, and actually considered his mood. He didn't feel... despair. He glanced at Keith, waiting until he caught his eye before smiling. He'd been right, really. They'd make it back to Earth. His family wouldn't know if he died, but he wasn't going to. He was a paladin of Voltron, and his family would know that one day.

And for the time being, he did have a ragtag sort of family. “You know what, yeah. I am feeling better.”

Keith slid his gaze back down to his breakfast goo, hiding a small smile from the paladin at his side. He couldn’t let Lance see what effect he was having on him, last night notwithstanding. “That’s, uh,” he cleared his throat when his words came out rough, having gotten zero sleep and spending half of it shouting into his pillow. “That’s great.”

“That's wonderful. Did the two of you smooth your differences?” Allura wondered, amusement clear.

At least clear to people more observant than Lance. “Yeah, well, I said sorry. He said okay, whatever. All’s well.” Lance elbowed him, and hopped up. “Where's Hunk? I'm starving, and I know he'll make something other than food goo.”

“Probably still sleeping.” Shiro took a seat beside Allura while Lance wandered. “You’re up early.”

He hadn’t slept, but swished his hips with a little bit of purpose. He should be dead on his feet, honestly, with only a few scattered cat naps behind him, but he was bursting with energy. Either his, like, fifth wind or just the idea of actively trying to entice Keith just got him all excited. “I couldn't sleep. Busy thoughts.”

“You have actual thoughts?” Shiro smiled fondly. “Shocking.”

“Careful, bud, or you're getting a faceful of food goo.” He mimed flinging a spoon, complete with over-the-top sound effect.

A chuckle escaped Keith’s throat, a testament to how exhausted he truly was. His eyes widened and locked with Lance’s. He coughed. “Uh-”

“Did Keith just _laugh_?” Pidge’s voice came from behind them, but Keith couldn’t tear his eyes away from Lance.

“ _No_!”

“Yeah, no, yeah, I- I'm pretty sure he did. Lance actually made him laugh,” Hunk agreed, right beside her. He yawned. “I must still be dreaming.”

Someone was, and Lance was pretty sure it was him. Keith had laughed before. They'd all heard it. But it was normally with Hunk or quietly with Shiro or, maybe twice, Pidge. If he was laughing around Lance, it was normally at his expense. He smiled, big and bright, and maybe his tiredness was manifesting as giddiness. “It's gonna be a good day, guys. I can feel it.”

Keith was blinded by Lance’s brighter-than-the-sun grin, his happiness infectious as he couldn’t keep his own lips from forming one. He really wanted to run his tongue along those perfect teeth, see if they were as smooth as they looked… He could feel his face starting to heat up and squashed that thought down like a bug.

“Now he’s blushing,” Pidge muttered. “Unbelievable!”

She dropped down into the chair next to Keith, and he immediately jumped up as if burned by her close proximity. “I have to go.” He glanced at Lance once more before hurrying out of the room.

His smile dimmed like a blown out bulb, but he redirected his attention to Hunk. “So what's for breakfast?”

“Not food goo. It's too early.” Yawning, Hunk shuffled out and Lance was quick to follow. If anyone could keep his spirits up, it was the easy-going yellow paladin. “So what happened? And where’s your jacket?”

“I'm experimenting.” He wasn't quite ready to drop an I'm-Keith-gay bomb on his best bud, so left it at that. “Did I say anything mean to you yesterday?”

“Uh. I don’t think so. Just Keith.”

And Pidge, but he didn't want to drop that either. No one was mean to Pidge. “Okay.”

“What happened, anyway? Everything was fine. We were kicking Galra butt, and all of a sudden Voltron starts to split apart and Shiro’s yelling at you to wake up and reconnect with your lion.” Hunk scoured the cabinets, searching for spices they'd been picking up in their travels. Eventually, they were going to find a potato. He was sure of it. “Where was your head?”

“Earth.” Lance shrugged, hopping onto the counter as Keith had the night before. And it was easy to tell Hunk since he'd already spilled it all out once before. “I've been thinking about what our families are thinking. Y’know?”

Hunk nodded, getting two bowls down since he knew Lance was just as eager for something not goo to eat. “Yeah. But ever since we met the Balmerans-”

“You mean your girlfriend?”

“Not just Shay, who is not my girlfriend.” Some of the sternness in his glare was lost in the blush. “But the whole planet. After freeing them, it's easier. We'll make it back home one day. And, yeah, it'll be tough seeing my family after everything that went down right before we left, but I'll be able to tell them that I helped people. We helped an entire planet, and we're going to keep going until we win.”

Lance nodded. “Keith, uh... yeah. He talked to me last night. About stuff. So it's okay. It wasn’t the longest talk ever or the most... Feelings.” He spread his hands in an arc as if framing the word. “But it was nice. I mean, it was as to the point as Keith always is, but kinda nice.”

Hunk snorted. “So what you're saying is he only laughed today because he totally pities you and just knows you needed someone to laugh at you being ridiculous.”

“What? Pssh. C’mon. I'm hilarious.” Oh, man, he hoped it hadn't been a pity laugh. Oh, man.

Hunk smirked, as clued into their mutual attraction as Pidge was. As the whole castle was, actually. The fact that they finally seemed to be moving towards something was a good thing. “You think you are,” he teased.

He knew so. Lance huffed, taking the bowl when it was offered. “Everyone else laughs. Keith’s just slow.” Except he wasn't. He was actually seriously smart and funny when he wanted to be, and he was always - _always_ \- jealous when he saw him and Hunk laughing at something together. It was stupid. He and Hunk had been friends since childhood, but Keith was just... Keith.

“Are you thinking again? Is that what your face looks like when you have a serious thought?”

Lance laughed, pushing Keith out of his head even as he pushed Hunk with his shoe. “Shut up.”

“It looks a lot like your normal face, but more pinched. You'll mess up your moisture balance.” He grinned when Lance kicked him again, taking a bite of the alien meal that everyone was better off not knowing the ingredients of. “So, uh, are you gonna go after Keith? Not that- not that you have to. It's just a thought.”

His face pinched just a little. “Maybe.”

\----

Pidge, Shiro, and Allura were all left in the dining room, gazes shifting back and forth between each of the doors. “Well, that just happened.”

“Pidge…”

She ducked her head, averting her eyes. She hated being on the receiving end of Shiro’s Dad Voice. “Sorry,” she mumbled. She pushed back from the table and stood up after having just sat down. “I’ll go check on Keith.”

“Thank you, Pidge.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She waved her hand back at Shiro as she walked, turning left down the hallway in the hopes of finding Keith.

Turned out she didn’t have to look very far. After rounding a few corners, she saw Keith sitting cross-legged and leaning up against the wall across from one of the castle’s larger windows. There were so few of them, most hidden behind panels that could only be moved if you knew exactly what to touch. He was gazing out into the vastness of space and seemed lost in thought; Pidge almost didn’t want to disturb him.

“Hey.” She lowered herself next to him gingerly.

“I’m sorry,” he said automatically. “For, uh, bolting out like that. It’s not you, Pidge.”

“I know.” Their shoulders bumped together. “I forgive you. But I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.” She continued when Keith shot her a confused look. “Lance looked pretty upset after you left.”

He turned away and looked back out the window, wishing he were anywhere but on this ship right now. “Yeah? Why should I care?” Except he did care. He knew how much it hurt Lance, saw the look on the other’s face as he walked away. He wanted so badly to turn back around, turn back to Lance and wrap him in the biggest hug. But-

“It’s literally just the two of us here, Keith. You can drop the act.” Pidge crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at the side of his face.

Trying to dislodge the giant lump in his throat, he swallowed. “I don’t know what you're talking about.”

“Oh, for the love of- Stop pretending you don’t like Lance and just _do_ something about it!” Keith whipped his head around to glare at her, backing down when he saw the fire in her eyes. “You two are the most insufferable, oblivious people I’ve ever met. Even Hunk can see that you guys are totally gay for each other.”

“That- I don’t… I’m not _gay_ for _Lance_!” That was a lie.

“You’re lying.”

He breathed out heavily through his nose. How was it that she could see right through him - hell, right through everybody? “I don’t know what to do, Pidge. I keep thinking back to that fight we had. He was so angry - we both were. We were so mean to each other…” And there was a reason he never talked about his feelings with anyone ever, thank you, Pidge.

“Then last night he was all mopey and depressed, and we talked, and I might have held his hands. I want to hold his hands again! And maybe do other stuff. I was up all night thinking about it, Pidge.”

“No wonder you look like crap…”

“Hey!”

“I mean, it’s true. Did you even shower, dude?”

“Of course I showered!” He hadn’t; he’d been too bombarded with emotions, wanting instead to just crawl into bed and smother himself in his sheets.

“Uh-huh.” She pushed her glasses up her nose. “Listen, if you want my advice - which, why wouldn’t you - you just need to go talk to him again. Lay it all on the line, let the chips fall where they may. You can’t get results by being silent.”

“That’s... actually good advice, Pidge. What the hell?”

“Duh.” She pushed herself up, offering Keith a hand to help him off the floor. “Now go get your boy. He was showing off for you earlier, and I know he was disappointed that you didn’t notice.”

“...Huh?”

“God, you’re dumb…”

\----

Keith decided to march right up and... let Lance have some space. Yeah, he wanted to find him and finally maybe get some things off his chest, but he didn’t think his company would be the most welcomed at the moment.

So he made his way to the training deck to help hone his close combat skills. He shrugged his jacket off into the corner of the room, grabbed his bayard from his belt, and walked to the center of the room.

“Begin training sequence level one,” he called out. A robot phased into being, immediately lunging for him; Keith rolled out of the way, activating his sword, and proceeded with his training.

Lance didn't know if Keith heard him come in, thumbs hooked in the pockets of his jeans as he strolled across the room to get closer. Sure, he'd told Hunk that _maybe_ he'd go after him, but it was usually better to let Keith sulk first.

If that's what he was doing, Lance still on the perplexed side of things. They'd been okay, hadn't they? They'd smiled at each other. Keith had actually laughed at one of his attempts to be funny, and then he'd just... vanished. Like maybe being nice to him in front of other people was somehow out of the question.

The thought made his chest feel tight. They were buddies, weren’t they? They at least made a good team. How did that translate into what had happened the past two days? Maybe they were just too moody.

Well, maybe Keith was. Lance wasn’t moody. He was calm and cool at all times. Yeah.

But he still watched him, hands buried in his pockets, something akin to a pout pulling at his lips because, whoa, nobody should look that good in a fight. All long lines and elegance, quick feints and clean swipes - it was like watching a really sexy dance. And Lance just wanted to pull him in close and leave a hickey right above the pulse point of his neck.

He was so, pitifully Keith-gay.

Keith dodged the training bot’s attempt at a right hook, ducking under its arm and slicing it in the side with his sword. Sweat dripped down his neck and back, his shirt soaked through with moisture and stuck to his skin. He could feel a pair of eyes following his every move, and with a glance behind him, confirmed it was Lance watching him.

The bot rushed towards him, mistaking his distraction as a break in concentration; instead, Keith wanted to impress the other paladin, and grabbed the bot by the arm. In one fluid motion, he used the momentum to flip himself over it, dragging it along behind him. It arced in the air before landing on the floor with a loud crash.

“End training sequence,” Keith panted, pushing his hair out of his face. The bot dematerialized and he finally turned around.

Well, Lance officially had enough material to keep him busy through a dozen showers. He felt almost as hot as Keith looked, so had to swallow before his easy grin could appear. “Figured I'd find you in here. You’re basically always practicing.”

Keith shrugged. “Practice does make perfect.” He grabbed his jacket and slung it over his shoulder. Feeling way more confident after his conversation with Pidge earlier and his stellar training session, he made his way over to Lance. Keith let his gaze wander over Lance’s body the closer he got until he was right in front of him, near enough to smell the shampoo he used, and getting another whiff of that damn hand lotion. “So… you found me.”

“Yeah. Uh...” Okay. Okay, no way had Keith just been checking him out. He was clearly imagining things. “So... okay. Did I do something wrong this morning or what? I thought things were okay, but then Pidge and Hunk showed up and you bolted.”

“I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night,” he confessed, and wow, Lance’s skin was even clearer up close. “I couldn’t stop thinking about our fight, and, uh, other things.” He cleared his throat awkwardly. “If it matters, I am sorry for running out. It wasn’t anything you did.”

“Okay.” Lance prodded the floor with the toe of his shoe, unused to feeling uncomfortable. But he was so close with his shirt sticking to his skin. He smelled like sweat, and it should've been the nastiest thing, but it wasn't. Keith was nothing but hot. “So... the fight kept you up? I'm- I thought we settled that. Are you still upset? Do you- I guess I don't exactly come off as the best listener, but come on. I'm the best at everything.” He grinned, hoping he looked more confident than he felt. “So if you wanted to maybe talk, I could listen.”

“No, no I’m not still upset, and I think that’s what kept me awake?” Ugh, why was this so hard. “I’m not making any sense, am I?” He turned his head away, huffed out an annoyed breath, all of the confidence from two minutes ago leaving his body with the action. “I was mad for not being angry at you like I kept telling myself I should be. I couldn’t be upset with you because, I, uh… like you?”

“Like...” Lance's brain fizzled. He could hear its demise. “Like... like, uh... like a teammate?” His voice cracked a little on the word. “Or... uh... a different kind?”

Keith returned his gaze to Lance’s face, smirking. “I didn’t realize you would need it spelled out for you.” He took a chance, and grabbed Lance’s hand again like he’d been wanting to do since the night before. Longer, if he was being honest. “I _like you_ , Lance. As in _like_ -like. As in I want to do this-” he shook their joined hands in Lance’s face “-with you. And, uh. More.”

Lance stared at him, gaze darting to their hands and back. Keith liked him. Keith _liked_ him! He threw his free hand up. “Woo! I'd spin or something, but yeah.” He laced their fingers. “This works. You're stupidly hot. Did you know that you're stupidly hot?”

“Did you know that you’re stupidly annoying?” he fired back, but there was no malice in his tone. He couldn’t stop a smile from working its way onto his face while the nerve endings in his fingers were going into overdrive as he squeezed Lance’s hand tighter. “I can’t believe I actually like you.”

“Yeah, well, you obviously just have good taste.” Lance bounced up to his toes a few times, beaming. “I’m a catch.”

“We’re each entitled to our own opinion.” But, damn, Lance’s happiness was infectious. In an even bolder move, he used the grip on the other’s hand to pull him forward, tossing his jacket aside to wrap his other arm around Lance’s waist in an awkward, sweaty hug.

Lance stilled for a stunned moment. He’d wanted a hug for... he didn’t know how long, but he’d been wanting a hug. He pressed his face into Keith’s mullet and banded his arms around him to hold tight. “You’re in serious need of a shower,” he teased, though didn’t bother stepping away. Not yet.

Keith barked out a laugh. “Says the guy refusing to let go of me or take his face out of my hair.” He, too, refused to let go, revelling in the warmth of Lance’s embrace.

“Pssh. Whatever. At least I definitely know where the shower is in my room.” He wiggled, grin returning. “So what’s all that ‘and more’ you were talking about that goes with holding hands?”

He pressed his lips to the skin on Lance’s neck, inhaling his scent deeply through his nose. “I really wanna kiss you.”

Lance felt his pulse skip. He hadn’t been as prepared for his forwardness as he would’ve thought, but he’d only kissed two guys before. Girls, yeah, plenty, but Keith-gay was also new-gay. It didn’t help that his mouth felt good on his neck. “I’m down with kissing. Yeah.”

“Okay, but maybe later,” he said to Lance’s collarbone. “I need to go take a shower first.”

Lance pursed his lips. “That’s cold, man. Harsh and bone-chilling cold. You can’t just _say_ you really want to kiss me and then take it back.”

“I can do what I please.” He finally pulled away from Lance, but kept his hands settled on his hips. “But I suppose I can also oblige you a little.” He leaned forward quickly, lips meeting the corner of Lance’s mouth before moving back a second later.

Lance’s lips curved, the smile small and almost shy until he opened his mouth again. “Okay, but what if I want to kiss you?” He shifted closer, slotting their bodies together, and it was definitely different from being pressed to a girl. A good different, Keith’s body firm and right against his. He was a little shorter, but Lance had been blessed with long legs. He kind of definitely wanted to wrap them around Keith’s waist and, oh, man, was he actually somehow a bottom? No. No way. “You should let me kiss you, and then shower. I’m gonna need one too, at this point.”

Keith walked them over to the side of the room, situated one of his knees between Lance’s to pin him in place with his back against the wall. “What’s stopping you?”

Holy shit. Lance’s heart was definitely skipping now, the pulse ragged and wild. He really was stupidly hot, and it wasn’t fair. How was he supposed to actually handle some sort of relationship with a guy who was literally a spirit guardian of _fire_? “That... That’s a pretty good question.” He mostly wanted to just lean down and capture his lips, but he also had a dozen other kiss fantasies working through his head in rapid ticks.

He settled on being careful. At least for the first one. Cool off some of the heat he didn’t at all know how to deal with. He skimmed his hands up Keith’s arms, lips quirked, until he could cup Keith’s cheeks. The flicker of surprise was a boost to his already swollen ego, and he was definitely taking advantage of it later, but for the moment, all he did was lean in and let his lips ghost over Keith’s. “I guess nothing,” he hummed and sank into a firmer kiss that steamed his attempts to cool off. His lips felt _good_.

Keith smirked into the kiss, loving the way Lance’s mouth felt against his. The angle wasn’t the best, but he could tell the other paladin was trying to hold himself back, felt it in the way Lance held his face firm between the palms of his perfect hands. He wanted those hands all over his body, wrapped around his-

He reared back suddenly as if doused with icy water. He had to get himself under control here. But he took one look at Lance’s confused face, still clutched between the other’s narrow fingers, and decided _screw it_. Keith threw the idea of a shower to the back of his mind in lieu of sliding his hands down to grip Lance’s ass and covering his mouth with his own again, letting his eyelids droop shut.

The sound Lance made was embarrassingly close to a squeak, and they were never going to speak of it ever. But he hadn’t expected Keith’s hands to wander and, hell, now his wanted to. One slid into Keith’s hair, tangling in the sweat-dampened strands, and the other slid to his hip as if he could possibly drag him closer. He was only vaguely aware of their surroundings, the wall hard and unyielding against his back and Keith so firm and right against his front. His hands were just - his _hands_! Lance made another noise, something trapped between another squeak and a moan, lips breaking from Keith’s to drop to his neck instead. “Okay. Okay.” He nipped at his neck, tasting the salt of dried sweat. How dare his _sweat_ be a sexy attribute? “Cripes, Keith.”

Keith felt like he was flying, the same feeling he had when he piloted Red around the galaxy, weightless and free. He could hardly believe this was actually happening, but Lance’s teeth at his neck and his own hands on Lance’s perfect ass helped ground him again, reminded him that this _wasn't a dream_ , and he landed back on the surface of reality with a sharp inhale. 

He stared at Lance’s lips, slightly swollen and red after the attention they’d received. Keith wanted to make them look like that more often, wanted to always be the reason for Lance’s hitched breaths and flushed cheeks; he wanted to drag his tongue all over the other paladin’s skin, wanted to feel those long legs around his waist. He wanted everything, and he wanted it with Lance.

“ _God_ ,” he breathed, right into the other paladin’s ear. “Lance, oh my god…”

Lance hummed, sucking wetly on a patch of skin to leave the start of a hickey. “Yeah. This is- wow. Like... wow. There are a million things I want to do to you.” And a million more he wanted done to himself, but he wanted his hands on Keith more than he wanted to breathe.

Keith groaned, holding Lance impossibly closer. “And I want to do all of them with you.” He finally lifted his head, leaning in to initiate another kiss, but wasn’t able to make contact as the alarm blared. He separated himself from Lance as if burned, glancing around wildly. “What the hell…?”

“Aw, man. Not _now_.”

Allura’s voice belted over the comms. “Paladins! Get to your lions!”

Lance huffed, but straightened from the wall since there was no way he was going to ignore the order. Even though getting his hands on the red paladin seemed worth letting the universe down. “You know what, I'm gonna look on the bright side.” He smirked. “Wanna know what the bright side is?”

He smiled at Lance, amused at his giddiness. “I feel like you’re going to say something infinitely stupid, but what?”

“Oh, Keith of little faith.” Lance leaned in to playfully kiss his nose, and strode off, hips swishing happily despite the alarms and Allura’s call for them to hurry. “The bright side is that the whole time we're dealing with whatever this is, I get to do it smelling like you. And then after, I think I'll do you a favor since I'm such a nice guy and wash your back.”

Keith blanched, stopping dead in his tracks following Lance. He watched on as Lance practically pranced out of the room, putting on his own private show, and he finally, _finally_ understood what Pidge’s insult from earlier was supposed to mean.

“I really am dumb,” he muttered to himself, and then spurred himself back into action and raced after the other paladin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find us on Tumblr!  
> [SylviaW1991](http://syl-writes-stuff.tumblr.com/) & [amycoolz](http://montgomery.co.vu/)
> 
> Fic updates every Tuesday!  
> Schedule:  
>  ~~Ch. 1 - 8/9~~  
>  ~~Ch. 2 - 8/16~~  
>  ~~Ch. 3 - 8/23~~  
>  ~~Ch. 4 - 8/30~~  
>  ~~Ch. 5 - 9/10~~  
>  ~~Ch. 6 - 9/13~~


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance speaking Spanish (✿◠‿◠)
> 
> Hover over the Spanish phrases for the translations! And a great big shout out to tumblr user [Kawteeah](http://kawteeah.tumblr.com/) for checking over the translations for this fic! You're the best :D
> 
> Also, this begins the start of the NSFW portion of the fic.

In typical paladin fashion, or as they were coming to accept as typical paladin fashion, a simple distress signal had decided to turn itself into A Thing. A Galra Thing. If Allura wasn’t so set on heeding every distress call, they probably... Okay, they'd probably still do it. Shiro was a goody-goody, Hunk was a goody-goody, Lance... tried not to be a goody-goody but failed. So they'd definitely still go on distress calls. Damn it.

But whatever. Decoy defeated, big giant monster defeated, and now there was only one thing for them to do and it was so nice using private links on the lion’s comms to tell Keith filthy things just so he'd yell at him to shut the fuck up.

As the five paladins and two Alteans broke for a night of well-deserved rest, Lance waited until they were alone - pre, during, and post battle were probably not the times to be telling the team two members were definitely hooking up - and wrapped his arms around his waist. His mouth fell to his neck, teeth nipping above the collar of his jacket. “So hey, buddy, going my way?”

“If ‘your way’ includes a shower stall, then yes.” Keith lifted his shirt away from his chest, disgusted. “Because just in case you’ve forgotten, I haven’t properly bathed in, like, over a day. How can you stand to be around me right now, seriously?” He almost wanted to push Lance away until he got some hot water and soap on his body, but his mouth felt really, _really_ good.

“Well, you're hot. Not just sweaty hot, but stupidly hot. I'm sure you recall me telling you that earlier. It was a good time for me.” Lance wiggled his hips, groin snug against Keith’s ass. “And I'm really hoping the good times get to continue. In my room. And, yeah, in a shower stall. All wet and grabby hands - my hands will be grabby, just to let you know.” They were already stealing beneath his shirt to find the heated skin beneath. “I took a really long shower last night thinking about letting my hands be grabby.”

Keith swallowed around the lump in his throat. “You’re going to actually kill me. Is that what you want?” He grabbed a hold of Lance’s hands and pried them away from his stomach, turning around in his arms, resting his forehead against a bony shoulder. “And I’ll hold you to that promise of grabby hands.” 

“I'm okay with that.” Lance grinned, unable to resist pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “Seriously, though, you smell awful. Let's go grab a shower, soap, and each other.”

“Yeah.” Keith walked alongside Lance through the corridors towards his room, thankfully not running into any of the other paladins or Alteans along the way. Everything was still so new and he didn’t want anyone making a fuss over it just yet.

When they finally got to Lance’s room and got the door open, Keith glanced around. He’d been in here before, but not in this context, and he suddenly wanted to analyze everything, like how the majority of the room was tidy. There wasn’t really a lot around to make a mess of, but even the bed was immaculate. Images of him and Lance writhing around in the sheets flashed through his mind and so he was going to make it his mission to ensure that happened.

Later. Right now he wanted that shower with the grabby hands that Lance had promised him.

“Alright, already. Can we get in the shower? I feel like I just ran four marathons in a row.”

Lance was more than okay with that, though nerves had crept up despite his best efforts. He really didn’t want to admit that he’d never actually had another set of hands on his dick before, and he sure as hell hadn’t touched anyone else’s. Kissing, he could handle. A little bit of frottage? No problem. But this was a whole new level and it was Keith and he’d seriously hate himself if he blew this.

His grin came easily, hands gripping Keith’s waist to tug him close. May as well start with what he knew, and go from there. He didn’t have to admit to being a total virgin, after all, and if he did fuck up, he could just say it was his first time with a guy. That was a fact, at least. Lance nibbled lightly on Keith’s lower lip. “You smell like it too,” he teased.

“And yet you won't let me go so I can wash the stink away.” He backed away slightly, but allowed his hands to continue resting on Lance’s hips. “Look, I get it if you're nervous - I am, too. We could wait if you want.” Keith cleared his throat, staring at a spot on the wall over Lance’s shoulder. “I, uh, I've never actually done this before. I mean, it's not that I don't want to! With you! But I thought you should know...”

“Wait, like, ever?” Lance blew out a relieved breath, but immediately blinked. “Wait! How the hell have _you_ not done this either? You're- Like- You're _Keith_!”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Uh. Are we forgetting that you're stupidly hot?” Lance lifted his hands upwards, offended on behalf of his very attractive teammate with benefits. “Who wouldn't want, like, all of this? Plus, like, you're nice when you're not a jerk and you've got this really stupid cute laugh. And, seriously, holy crow!” Lance cupped the back of his neck and tugged him forward for a firm kiss. “I'm so putting my hands all over you and I'm going to just mentally laugh at every person who was ever stupid enough to miss out.”

Keith felt his face burning, not used to being complimented so thoroughly. He felt like he should say something back, but couldn't think past picturing Lance and him in the shower, naked and wet and warm, slick bodies sliding against each other under the spray of the water. He grabbed Lance’s face in both of his hands and pulled him back in for another kiss that was all teeth and tongue and zero finesse. “God damn it, Lance, _take your clothes off_.”

“Okay.” He was totally on board with that. “Next time when, like, fully naked isn't a requirement, you've got to keep your gloves on.” Lance leaned back to pull off his t-shirt. “Because I've got a million fantasies of feeling your gloves on me. But shower now.”

“ _Thank you_!” He took a moment to appreciate Lance’s bare chest; god but he wanted to get his mouth on that skin, leave dark marks along his collarbone and stomach, follow the light dusting of hair below his waistband with his tongue… He shook himself out of it, quickly shedding his uniform down to his boxer-briefs and tossing it to the side to join Lance’s shirt in the corner. “Well?”

“The stupid hotness continues.” All that time spent on the training deck had done Keith a lot of good. He was still lean, but there was no mistaking the strength in his muscles. He licked his lips, gaze traveling freely. “Wow. My hands definitely have a lot of ground to cover.” And he was absolutely looking forward to it, wiggling out of his jeans. He grabbed Keith’s hips to tug him close, relishing the sensation of skin on skin. Heat went straight to his groin, pooling thickly in his gut, and his lips lowered to Keith’s neck, mouthing the curve where throat met shoulder. “Are you loud? Like, when you jerk-off? You do jerk-off, right?”

“Oh my god, do you ever shut up.” Keith pressed his fingers firmly into Lance’s side, smirking when he jolted slightly. “If I say yes, can we move on already?”

“What? We're moving. We're absolutely moving.” Lance grinned, tugging Keith into the attached bath. “I just want to know what I'm in store for here. I mean, being with a guy’s new territory. I'm allowed to ask questions.” He reached into the shower and smacked the buttons that would send warm spray hurtling over tiles and glass. And them in just a few more seconds. He nuzzled into Keith’s neck again, finding himself very fond of the spot, and hooked his thumbs into the waistband of his boxers. “I wonder who's gonna come first.”

Keith followed suit, pushed his own underwear down his thighs until they pooled at his ankles and he was able to kick them aside. “If I had to put money on it,” he commented, stepping into the stall, “I’d bet you will.”

“That's...” His comeback was lost, trapped in his throat as he followed Keith in and finally got a look at all of him. He hadn't been a hundred percent sure how he'd react to seeing another guy naked, but oh. Oh, oh, oh. “Holy shit, you're gorgeous.”

“Shut the hell up and kiss me, idiot.” He wrapped his arms around Lance's waist and pulled him closer, capturing Lance’s upper lip between his teeth and biting down almost hard enough to draw blood. Their bare thighs were touching and Keith shivered despite the warmth from the water and the body in front of him; he smirked against Lance’s lips when he felt the other paladin’s dick twitch against him.

Unable to keep from making some kind of sound, Lance groaned and went with instinct. Friction was good, so he rocked his hips, rutting against him to create some. His hands slid from Keith’s waist to the curve of his ass, kneading. They were already wet, hair damp, and his busy hands slid up his back so one could steal into the dark strands. He tilted his head, mouth dropping back to his neck so his teeth could sink in to really make a mark. To stake a claim.

Keith groaned loudly and shifted them so Lance’s back was pressed into the tiles, shoving a knee between Lance’s legs and pressing up into his groin. His own hands traveled along the expanse of Lance’s chest, his mouth and tongue following in their wake.

“Oh my god, what else makes you noisey?” Lance wondered, even though Keith's open-mouthed kisses were making him whimper. He rutted against his thigh, length stiffening. He didn’t even care if he came first, too eager to get every sensation he could out of this. A hand slid down, hesitant for only a moment before they curled around Keith’s dick. It was warm, firming beneath his touch, and it was so arousing to feel Keith’s. “Fuck. I wonder what you taste like. I've never thought about sucking a dick before, but, damn, Keith.”

“ _Oh_. Oh, Lance, oh my god.” Panting into Lance’s chest, he started to shallowly thrust into his fist, glancing down to watch. He whined, a high-pitched noise that escaped his throat despite his best efforts to keep it contained. His hands were sliding all over Lance’s body, beautiful even with the various scars littered across his skin he’d gained since they started their adventures in space. “Lance, _please_.”

“It's seriously so amazing to hear your voice like that.” Wrecked and pleading. Lance rubbed his thumb against the head of his length, spreading a little circle of pre. It was maybe a little weird how badly he wanted to taste it, more than a little disconcerted by how easy it was to imagine. “You're seriously the most gorgeous guy I've ever seen in my life. I want to see your face when you come, and then I wanna get you worked up all over again. Then when we get to bed, I'm putting my mouth on you. Can you handle three? You probably can.”

“I’ll _hah_ \- I’ll handle you!” That had sounded better in his head. “Fuck you and your mouth and your _words_.” That had also sounded better in his head, but he couldn’t think with Lance’s hand tightening around him. Sounds kept pouring out of his mouth, moans and whines and pants, urging Lance on to do _more_.

“You know, I am so okay with you handling me if we're like this.” Lance leaned forward, licking a thick stripe up the column of his throat that tasted of water more than it did Keith. He almost missed the sweat. But, damn, were the sounds nice. He let go of his cock to reverse their positions, Keith’s back pressing against the wall, and his fingers soon wrapped back around his length to continue his ministrations. He pumped quickly, free hand tangling in Keith’s hair while his mouth found the hickey again. He brushed a kiss against it before starting a new one just above it, tongue and teeth working to leave another mark.

Keith gasped and tilted his head to the side, giving Lance more room; his hands found their way into Lance’s hair, gripping it tightly between his fingers and tugging. His hips picked up speed until he was practically fucking into Lance’s fist. He shoved his knee back into the space between Lance’s thighs, allowing him to grind down onto his leg. “Lance, oh _shit_ , _Lance_ , I'm not-” he broke off and let out a long, low moan, “not gonna last.”

Lance whimpered at the tugging, moaning against his neck as he rutted against his thigh. It wasn’t nearly enough to get him off, but the tease was electric. “Come on, then. I've got you. I wanna see you.” He looked down, biting into his own lip as he watched Keith’s hips move. “Holy shit, I think I actually want you to fuck me.”

“You have _got_ to stop _saying things like that_.” But he wouldn't deny that he wanted that, too. He could feel his dick twitching in Lance's grip, growing impossibly harder, bringing him that much closer to the edge. His balls tightened, drawing back up close to his body. “Lance, I-” But he was cut off by his orgasm, still pumping his hips and letting out cries of bliss against the side Lance's neck.

“You’re so gorgeous. Completely gorgeous.” Lance tugged his hair to tilt his head back, sealing their lips together to swallow the sounds. He pumped his fist until he was spent and glanced at his hand. Normally, he'd just wipe his hands on a napkin or something or just wash them. But fuck it. Lance lifted his hand to his lips before his release could be washed away and sucked his fingers clean. It was a little salty, not unlike his sweat, but not very objectionable. “Yeah, I could absolutely suck your dick,” he decided, panting and still achingly hard. Good thing they hadn't actually bet money on who'd go first.

Keith would have been embarrassed about how quickly Lance had been able to get him off, but he just felt so damn _good_ that he couldn't care less. “I'm gonna hold you to that later. But right now…” He snaked a hand down Lance’s back, caressing over smooth skin and lean muscle, dragging along the space between his waist and hip towards his front, finally able to reach down and grip Lance’s hard length in his calloused hands. “I wanna return the favor.”

“Please,” Lance moaned, entirely uninhibited as the new sensation of having someone else’s hand on him sent shockwaves of heat down his spine. “Oh my god, Keith, please.” He cupped Keith’s waist, gripping tight as he bucked into his hand.

“Yeah,” he huffed into Lance’s ear, nipping lightly at the lobe. “Come on, Lance. M’gonna make you come, make you forget everything but my name.” Keith didn't know where all this was coming from, but Lance’s answering moans were spurring him on, so he continued. “You're so good, Lance, so fucking good.” He sped his hand up, twisting his wrist on each upstroke. “And, because I didn't say it before,” he leaned in and kissed Lance briefly, “I think you're ‘stupidly hot’, too.”

Lance gasped, as caught on the praise as he was the hand working him. He was already close from his eager ruts, the rest tearing a moan from him. A hand slid up Keith’s side to tangle in his hair, tugging gently. “Keith,” he moaned, hips rocking into his hand, his smart comments finally fading into breathless sounds.

“You say my name so pretty, Lance. You're amazing.” The praise was just falling from his lips, watching Lance’s face closely. “I can't wait to get you into bed. I wanna see how good you look on your back with your legs wrapped around me.”

Lance bit his lip, trying to muffle himself so he could hear more. He didn’t know what it was about hearing the compliments that got to him, but he was gone. His voice just sounded so good, and, holy crow, did Lance want to look good for him. His head fell forward, brow resting against Keith’s. “K-Keith.” Please, please, please-

“Yes, _yes, Lance_.” He pressed his thumb underneath the head of Lance’s cock, reached down with his other hand to cup his balls. “Come on, babe, let go.”

He cried out, unable to help himself. He bucked his hips out of rhythm, release spilling over Keith’s hands. “Keith- Keith!” he whined, tightening his grip on his hair, the other falling to the tile behind them as if the slick surface could help hold him up. “F-fuck.”

Keith smirked, letting the water rinse his fingers clean; he grabbed Lance by the back of the neck and crushed their lips together, immediately thrusting his tongue into Lance’s mouth. The kiss was as wet as their skin, messy and all too brief with them both panting. Slowly, he released the other paladin, but kept their foreheads pressed against each other, breathing in Lance’s exhales. “You looked so beautiful, Lance. So perfect, just for me.”

Lance swallowed, pressing against him like an affectionate kitten in the aftermath. He captured his lips again, but was too breathless to make it last as long as he wanted. “I... uh... yeah. Okay.”

Embarrassed now, Keith loosened his grip on Lance, but didn't let go. “Um… So. That happened.”

“Yeah.” Lance nuzzled into Keith’s neck, nipping one of the marks he'd left. “And I'm not even done with you yet.” He straightened, their lips brushing together before he hit a button on the little soap dispenser that had confused him the first time he'd stepped into the shower. But he was an expert now, rubbing his hands together to gather suds. “I did promise to wash your back, so...”

Blushing, Keith turned around, rested his hands against the tiles. He felt silly being in this position, feeling a bit like he was presenting himself to Lance - and wasn't _that_ exciting to think about. “I suppose I _do_ need someone to help me out.”

“And I'm just the guy to help.” Lance hummed, fingers resting over Keith’s shoulders. He kneaded carefully, thumbs pushing into the knots he found. He was way too tense for a guy who'd just come in a hot shower stall. “I do have a question, though. Did you sit in sugar?”

“W-what?”

“I'm just wondering if you happened to sit in some sugar.” Lance grinned. “Since you've got such a sweet ass.”

“Oh my god.” Keith groaned, dropping his head onto the wall with a dull thud. “You're actually the worst.”

Maybe, but it had gotten his shoulders to relax. Lance pressed his lips to the back of his neck, soapy hands trailing downwards in a careful massage. “But you do have a nice ass, though.” His hands slipped to it, cupping the cheeks. “It matches the rest of you.”

Keith moaned in the back of his throat, that part of him being one of the most sensitive spots on his body; he'd dreamt of having Lance’s hands there for the longest time and it felt way better than he’d ever imagined. He arched his back, pushing his ass more firmly into Lance’s grasp. “And you have amazing hands, Lance. Your fucking fingers…”

Those fingers faltered a little, the praise unexpected. He was more used to being told that he was the worst. But he was so not about to disappoint. He massaged his fingers into the firm muscles, lips trailing along the curve of his shoulder. “So you like this, huh? Where else do you want me to touch you?”

Literally everywhere. “I don't care. Anywhere you want.” He just needed Lance’s hands on him at all times.

“So everywhere.” Lance lifted his head to nibble on his earlobe. “Gotcha.” Lance turned him, cupping his waist to slot their bodies together. Part of him could still hardly believe that this was really a thing. Keith - freaking _Keith_ \- was in his shower. Right there, actually wanting to be touched. It was better, so much better, than his sweaty fantasies had been able to convey. “This isn't actually a line, I swear, but my imagination really sucks because you're better than I thought you'd be.”

“And you're actually not as annoying as I originally thought.” Keith bit Lance’s neck, harder than he intended, but judging by the way Lance shuddered against him, it wasn't entirely unwelcomed. “I just have to keep your mouth occupied.”

Lance huffed, leaning away to get more soap into his palms. “My mouth is very happy to be occupied by yours or any other part of you.” His brow quirked in the same cocky way as his lips, hands running over Keith’s chest. “You just have to ask, pretty boy.”

Keith scoffed. “‘Pretty boy’? Really?” If anyone in this scenario was going to be labeled “pretty boy”, it would definitely be Lance, with his elegant hands and pointed nose. Not to mention he had legs for _days_. His features practically screamed poise and grace, for all that he lacked of the two traits. “I'm sorry, but no. You're the pretty one in this relationship.”

“Well, yeah.” Lance rolled his eyes, the pads of his thumbs teasing Keith’s nipples since his heart seemed to jump at the word ‘relationship.’ “But come on. You’ve got those gorgeous eyes and that ridiculously nice hair that I just want to pet. You’re plenty pretty.”

“Sure…” Keith’s face was heating up again, still not used to such compliments. Lance was giving him a complex, which was absurd because _Lance_ was the one with the damn praise kink apparently. “Just- If you wanna pet my hair so badly, do me a favor while you're at it and wash it for me.” There, two birds, one stone.

“Keith, Keith, Keith.” Lance tsked before pressing their lips together. “Like I wasn’t already planning on it.” His hands slipped down, tongue caught between his teeth as he massaged and cleaned his abs. Hell, he wasn’t just _pretty_. Pretty was an understatement. The guy was, well, stupidly hot. Also fucking gorgeous. His hands slid lower still, fingers dipping into the creases where his thighs met his torso, and grinned when his legs spread automatically to give him more room. “I seriously like touching you.”

“I've noticed.” Under the touch of Lance's fingers, his dick was becoming interested again, twitching against his thigh. He ran his hands back up Lance's chest, over his shoulders, down his arms. “I have to admit, I like touching you, too. Your skin is so damn _smooth_. How the hell…?”

“I have three older sisters who are very generous with their secrets, that’s how.” He missed them fiercely, but tucked it away to focus on kneading Keith’s thighs. One hand slid between them, fingertips brushing over his length teasingly. “Good skin care doesn’t stop just because we’re in _space_.”

“ _Hmmnn_ , I su-suppose it doesn't.” Certainly not for Lance; his face always looked like it was _glowing_ , and god, yeah, Lance was so fucking beautiful. Especially with his hand between Keith's legs like this. “Shit.” Keith curled his fingers over Lance's shoulders, dragging him closer still.

Lance smiled, lips pressing fond kisses along his jawline. “Oh, yeah. Definitely time for round two. What’s your record? Like, for a night. I want-” He moaned softly, rocking his hips. He circled his own dick as well as Keith’s, the delicious friction distracting. “I want to, um- your record. Beat it. Yeah.”

Keith nodded frantically, totally on board with what Lance was suggesting. “Oh god, Lance,” he panted; the sensation of both of their dicks sliding together with Lance’s hand wrapped around them was almost too much. “I- _uhn_ , I've never gotten past four. _Oh_!”

“Five it is.” Lance brought both hands around their dicks, the two of them falling into a rhythm. It was warm and wet, slick with soap, and Lance was sensitive enough from his first that he probably wasn't going to last long. “After- after I blow you-” He groaned, head falling forward to nip at Keith’s earlobe. “Want to feel you- _hnng_ \- coming inside me.”

“ _Lance!_ ” Christ, he wasn't going to make it, not with Lance’s hot breath against his ear, his body pressed close to his. But he refused to be the one to come first, not again. “I want it, too, so bad, Lance.” He decided to try exploiting Lance’s - now obvious - kink again, in the hopes he could get the other paladin off faster. He leaned in, lips brushing the side of Lance’s face, in front of his ear. “You'd look so good, Lance, so perfect spread out on your back for me. I bet you're really tight and greedy, too. I'm gonna have you _begging_ for me, Lance.”

Lance gasped, cock twitching at the words. A whine was wrung from him, brow falling to Keith’s shoulder. “I-” He was going to die. “I'll be- be good for you, yeah.” 

“Yeah you will…” He let go of one of Lance’s shoulders and reached down to cover Lance’s hand with his own, speeding up the strokes. “You will be, or I’d have to punish you. You wouldn’t like that, would you?” Keith could hardly believe the words coming out of his mouth, but seeing the effect they had on Lance... Well, he couldn't stop them. “Or _would_ you?”

Lance was pretty sure he'd like whatever Keith thought of. One hand fell away to grasp his hip, whimpers catching in his throat as they thrusted against their palms. “I- I want-” To find out. To see what he liked and what he didn’t. He wanted all of it with Keith. “F-fuck, Keith,” he groaned.

“You gonna come for me again, Lance? You’re gonna - _hmph -_ gonna get us both all gross again.” He slipped his other arm around Lance’s back, tugging him closer and holding on while they rutted against each other. “I hope you're gonna clean us up.”

“Uh-huh.” Lance tightened the grip on his waist, muffling the needy sounds he couldn’t stop making against Keith’s neck. It only took a few more thrusts - their hands were hot, fingers tangling - to have him bucking out of rhythm, his release spilling onto their palms as his shout filled the air. “Keith!”

“Lance, _yes_ , oh… Just a bit-” He followed right after Lance, bringing his teeth back down to Lance’s neck and biting the same spot, soothing it over with his tongue. They stood there panting for a minute, Keith finally pulling back to be able to look Lance in the eyes. “Holy crap, Lance.”

“Yeah...” He just wanted to melt against Keith, snuggle against him and pet his hair. Maybe take a nap. He freed his hand from between them, fingers curled around Keith’s wrist. He lifted his hand to his lips, sucking two of Keith’s fingers into his mouth to lick them clean.

Keith groaned, letting Lance’s tongue swirl over his digits for a moment before wrenching his hand back, covering Lance's mouth with his own, chasing after their combined taste. He dropped his arms to wrap around Lance's waist, fitting them together more snugly. God, Keith wanted to _devour_ Lance, but he also wanted to be gentle with him, wanted to take time to explore and discover.

He drew away slowly, keeping his eyes shut tight - and when had he actually closed them? He breathed out Lance’s name like a prayer, resting their foreheads together.

Lance took his fingertips over Keith’s face in gentle exploration. He was so pretty, his cheekbones high and defined, chin all angled and stubborn. His lips brushed over each lowered eyelid before he reached back to get some shampoo in his palm. “Keep your eyes closed,” he instructed, fingers gliding through Keith’s hair to lightly scritch his scalp and spread suds.

Keith couldn't hold back a moan at Lance's ministrations, loving the feel of his nails scraping gently across his skin. His head and his ass, those were the two spots on his body guaranteed to get him to make embarrassing noises, they were so damn sensitive. He ducked his head farther forward, letting Lance pet away to his heart's content. “I love your hands, have I mentioned that yet?”

“Maybe.” Absolutely, but Lance loved hearing it. He took his hands through his hair in careful strokes, new to washing someone else's hair and hoping not to make a mistake. Especially not when he was feeling loose and warm from two orgasms, with at least one more on the way. Keith had two. He was going to do his best to make sure of that, warmth spreading from his gut at the thought of hearing whatever Keith had to say when they were actually in bed.

He kept his hands in Keith’s hair even after the water had sluiced the suds away. “I keep thinking about what your hair would look like splayed on my pillow. It's always so fluffy.”

“Why don't we go find out?” Keith suggested. He kept his chin pressed to his chest, wanting Lance to just leave his fingers in his hair forever.

“I'm so okay with that.” Lance hadn't exactly gotten clean, but he figured there was no way he was sleeping after Keith came inside of him, so he could take another shower then and then curl up next to him and... “You’re staying, right? In my bed,” he clarified, switching off the water. “All night.”

“Well, obviously.” He stepped out of the shower with Lance, grabbing a towel off the stack next to the sink and wrapping it around his waist. The sink, he just now noticed, was absolutely covered with skin care products - cleansers and masks and lotions and- “You weren’t kidding.” He gestured to the counter top.

Lance stretched before grabbing a second towel. Instead of wrapping it around his waist, he used it on Keith’s hair. He wanted it _dry_ and spread on his pillow. “I was the baby in my family for ten years, and my sisters are at least five years older than me.” He grinned, unashamed about the amount of products he used when they made him look and feel good. “They used to use me for practice, and ended up teaching me a lot.” He gave Keith a friendly kiss, plucking up a comb to run through his smooth hair. “I mean, I didn’t get this pretty by accident.”

“You're so full of yourself.” But he laughed good-naturedly, maneuvering to sit on the toilet lid to give Lance more room to work. “But remind me to thank them.”

Lance’s heart stuttered in his chest, the paladin stunned by the emotional wave that crashed into him. He grabbed a small handheld device off the counter that he'd been surprised to discover was a hair drier and switched it on quickly so he wouldn't have to respond right away. Keith couldn't thank them unless they made it back to Earth, and that could take a really long time. And then he'd have to introduce Keith to his family. He so badly wanted to introduce Keith to his family as his teammate and... boyfriend? Geez, he didn't even know what label to use for this. But he wanted Keith to meet his family.

When Keith's hair was dry, his dark mullet as fluffy as it ever was, Lance slid a hand into the strands to tilt his head back, and lowered his lips for a kiss. “They'd love you. Come to bed, Keith.”

Keith rose and trailed after Lance back into the bedroom, stopped just short of the bed. Nervous again, he glanced up at Lance; he looked even more beautiful under the soft lights rather than the harsh fluorescents in the bathroom. How had he gotten so lucky (and god, he sounded like a fucking sap)?

He quashed his nerves down and reached out to Lance, grabbing his wrists and sitting on the bed, dragging the other paladin down to straddle his thighs. Bringing their mouths together, he slowly leaned back until he was propped against the wall with Lance hunched over him.

Lance lapped his way into Keith’s mouth, tongue twisting over his while his heart kicked up its rhythm. There was still so much he wanted to do to him, with him, and he was going to start right then and never stop. He’d let his hands wander as promised in the shower, and now he could let his mouth follow the same path. He broke the kiss on a soft sound, lips trailing wet kisses down his neck. His tongue teased the marks already left behind, a buzz of pride fueling him as he nibbled on his collarbone. This stupidly hot guy was all his, and nothing was going to change that.

He lifted to his knees, hovering over Keith. “Might want to move so your head’s actually on the pillow or something. You’ll probably get a crick in your neck.”

Without warning, Keith slipped his hands under Lance's ass and lifted, depositing him on the bed and scootching over to the side. He flopped his head onto Lance's pillow, making sure his his hair had fanned out underneath. He smirked at Lance. “This better?” 

He blinked twice, brows lifting as surprise and _interest_ spiraled through him. It was easy to forget how strong Keith was until he did something ridiculous like that. Their combat was usually relegated to what their lions were capable of and if they were hand-to-hand, they were solo so the most Lance tended to see was him on the training deck. But even knowing his strength, Lance should still find Keith to look at least a little vulnerable splayed naked in the center of his bed with his mullet strewn across his pillow. Instead, it just looked like he belonged there.

“Wow,” he breathed, almost struck silent for a moment. Lance crawled up to straddle his waist again, the kiss quick and almost chaste before he resumed the path he’d been making. Collarbone to pec, tongue tracing the lines of his muscles before flicking teasingly over one nipple and then the other. “ _Te deseo_ ,” he purred, the language slipping out. He normally avoided its use, advice given from his older siblings that their heritage wasn’t exactly respected at the garrison taken to heart. He hadn’t even put his knowledge of Spanish on his application into the academy. Its usage was saved for home or the safest of places, and wrapping himself up in Keith seemed safe. “ _Sólo puedo pensar en ti._ ”

Keith’s brain short-circuited, his hands sliding up Lance’s thighs and gripping hard. Lance was speaking fucking _Spanish_ to him. Oh god, why did that have to be a thing? A high-pitched whine crawled its way out of his throat and he bucked his hips off the bed. “Holy shit, Lance. What the hell?”

His lips curved into a smirk against Keith’s skin, gaze lifting. “What’s wrong, buddy?”

“I'll tell you what’s wrong, _buddy_ ,” he spat, manhandling Lance onto his chest; he dragged Lance’s face back down to meet his, lips claiming his in a furious kiss. “Your mouth is ridiculous. I can't- I just can’t, oh my god.”

“Well, if you don’t want-” Lance paused, reconsidering. Maybe he didn’t mean the kissing part. Lance ground his hips down, rubbing against him. “ _Eres tan lindo como una flor. Dejame estar contigo._ ”

Keith writhed under him, letting his hands drift to cup Lance’s ass, squeezing. “What are you even saying to me? Why does it sound so hot coming out of your mouth?”

Lance grinned, loving the way Keith reacted to something that seemed so basic. It was just Spanish. “It's all good things, I promise.” He kissed his way to Keith’s ear, tongue dipping in teasingly before he murmured, “ _Eres divino._ ”

Okay, that sounded like it was something cheesy, but damn if it wasn't working for him. His dick was swelling again, caught in between his thighs. He needed to be inside Lance ten minutes ago. “I need to be inside you. Lance, come on, oh my god.”

Lance nodded, pulse leaping. Not the plan, but he was adaptable. “Okay. Yeah. Uh. I've never actually done... anything? Like that? So, uh, I've got lube.” Or what worked as lube in space, Coran maybe a little too open with what food item doubled as what. “But I want you, yeah. _Te deseo_.”

Keith breathed out a relieved sigh. “That's okay, Lance, I told you I've never done it before either. But have you ever, um, you know.” He cleared his throat awkwardly, not sure why this was so hard for him to get out. “Fingered yourself? While jerking off, I mean?” Just thinking about Lance doing that to himself brought a whole new surge of arousal spreading through his body.

Lance sat back on his heels, retrieving a bottle of the clear gel-like substance from a tucked away compartment in the wall. “There's a reason why I keep this on hand, my man.”

Well, that was a step in the right direction. “Where did you even get that stuff?” He shook his head, his hair going even crazier over the pillow. “You know what, I don't wanna know.” He grabbed the bottle from Lance. “Are you sure you're okay with this?” He really didn't want to hurt Lance. “We don't have to…”

Lance leaned down, brushing their lips together. “I want to. I want to feel you. Just, y’know, take your time.” He smirked. “Even though I know _slow_ isn't your strong suit or anything.”

“My god, you're an asshole.” Using one hand, Keith popped the cap open on the lube, his other kneading Lance’s ass cheek. “You sure you're ready? ‘Cause I gotta be honest, Lance, I probably won't be able to stop.”

“Promise?”

“ _Oh my god_.” Keith reached around behind Lance and squirted some of the lube onto his fingers, rubbing his thumb in it to help heat it up. “You’re so beautiful, Lance,” he whispered, rubbing his index finger over Lance’s hole slowly. “So pretty, just for me.”

Lance bit his lip, dick twitching and swelling at the praise and promise of more. He pushed back against his finger, skin tingling. “ _Quiero que estés dentro de mi_ ,” he breathed. “Come on, Keith.”

“Yeah, okay.” Keith started pressing against Lance’s opening until it yielded and let his finger slip inside. He heard a hitch of breath from above him and continued until his palm met Lance’s cheek. Crooking his finger, he silently cheered at the face Lance made.

“Keith,” he moaned, the stretch slight but delicious. His fingers weren’t as long as his own were, but it wasn’t about the depth. And it was definitely nice not having to twist his wrist to do it himself. He rocked his hips shallowly. “Another. More.”

Keith did as instructed, pulling out just enough so he could squeeze another finger in, going slowly so Lance could get used to it. God, Lance was so tight, just like he pictured, and his hole was practically swallowing his fingers. “So greedy, just like I knew you’d be. You feel amazing like this, I can't wait to see what you feel like around my dick.”

Lance groaned, low and needy. He wanted to hear more, wanted to be good enough to earn the praise. His hands found his shoulders, gripping in search of an anchor as his hips moved a little faster. Keith’s fingers were so wet, so easy inside, but the pace was going to kill him. He wanted to feel him, all of him, the stretch of two slowly thrusting fingers not nearly enough. Holy crow, had he really been worried about coming off as a bottom? Like it was a bad thing? “K-Keith, Keith, please.”

“Ready for more already?” Teasing, he twisted his wrist and scissored his fingers at the same time, watching as Lance jumped against him. “You’re such a bottom, Lance. I wonder if I could get you off just like this.”

His head fell forward on an outcry, brow dropping to Keith’s shoulder. Teasing jerk. Such a hot jerk, so good with his hands. “Please, want you- Want you inside me, Keith. _¡Quiero que me cojas!_ ”

“Let me at least get one more finger. I really don’t want to hurt you, Lance, you’re being so good.” He pulled out completely, squirting a little bit more lube onto his fingertips, and then went back in with three, Lance snug around them.

The most he'd ever managed himself was three, the burn familiar but still so new with the fingers so clever inside him being Keith’s. He nipped at his shoulder, his outcry startled pleasure when Keith's fingers grazed his prostate. “ _Keith_! Fuck!” he whined, sounds desperate and grip tight as he rocked his hips, length dripping pre onto Keith’s abdomen.

“Okay, okay, I think you’re ready. Are you ready?” Please say yes. Keith was going out of his mind, watching Lance writhe around on top of him. “Do you wanna turn over? Or are you gonna ride me?”

Lance swallowed, unable to process the question for a moment. Either option had him throbbing, his imagination clear and the fingers inside him still driving him wild. “Uh- I- Holy crow. Holy shit. Um. Either. Just- I want you, Keith.”

“Alright. As much as I wanna see you on top of me, I think you should be on your back this time.” Because there was absolutely going to be many more times after this, if he had anything to say about it. He withdrew his fingers and grabbed a hold of Lance’s thighs; bending his knees and pushing, he rolled them over so that Lance was pressed against the mattress. “You ready?”

Nerves crept back in, blue eyes wide as he stared up at Keith. He was absolutely ready, but this hadn't even been a real possibility even two days before. Yet there they were, Lance’s hair still damp from the shower they'd shared and Keith’s eyes boring holes into his. Sure, he'd said he wouldn't be able to stop, but he absolutely would. This stupidly hot jerk had a lot of good in him, and Lance trusted him with his life, was his teammate and fellow paladin through and through.

And now more. So much more. “I'm ready.”

Keith swallowed around a lump that had formed in his throat; he was not prepared for what Lance looked like underneath him, his vast expanse of tan skin contrasting against the crisp sheets and bright blue eyes shining back at him. He had it _bad_. Picking up the lube again and spreading some onto his cock, he said, “You have to promise you’ll tell me if I’m going too fast, or if it starts hurting.”

His lips quirked. “You’re not exactly doing much of anything yet.”

“You know what I fucking mean, Lance.” The little shit was so annoying. Deciding - hoping - that Lance would actually communicate with him if need be, he scooted closer on his knees, making Lance bend and spread his legs to allow enough room. With one hand he guided the head of his dick to Lance’s entrance, using his other to lift him slightly off the bed. He pushed in slowly, trying to hold back so Lance could adjust.

Lance pressed his head against the pillows, legs lifting to wrap around his waist as his world narrowed to sensation and keeping still otherwise to let Keith handle the pace this first time. It was such a different stretch, thicker and so much more filling than fingers. “Good. Good, it’s good.” His hands slid up his chest, grasping his shoulders. “Just like that, pretty boy.”

Keith groaned, sliding both of his hands down Lance’s thighs and holding on. He knew Lance would look good like this, he just didn’t know _how_ good until now, especially with those mile-long legs pulling him closer. He could barely control himself, hips starting to buck faster. Leaning down, he captured Lance’s lips in a sloppy kiss. “God, Lance, you feel so fucking amazing. Still so tight.”

He wasn’t sure if it was the praise that tore the whimper from him or the way Keith began to move in earnest. He hadn’t been nearly ready enough, he decided as one hand tangled in the mullet, every slide of his cock burning in the best of ways. He could feel his brain melting, bones liquefying. For once, his words were completely lost. Broken Spanglish and pleasured moans tore from him, pupils blown wide enough to nearly overtake the blue as his hips bounced in a bid to keep up that was more instinct than finesse. He just felt so good, so hot, and he never wanted it to stop.

Sensing that Lance was mildly uncomfortable, Keith pulled back to reposition them briefly; he grabbed one of Lance’s pillows and shoved it under him, propping his hips up and allowing a better angle. Once he planted his knees closer to Lance’s body, he pushed back in, immediately feeling the change. He was able to get deeper, but also keep a healthier pace so he wasn’t overwhelming Lance.

The complaint Lance had been ready to utter when he’d pulled away morphed into a moan. Smart, good, yes. It somehow felt even better, thighs tightening around Keith’s waist, and it was much easier to move with him, to take more. “Yeah, yes. You feel so good.” So deep and right, thrusts seeming so sure despite their inexperience. It was no wonder that Keith had the red lion with instincts like this.

Keith could already feel his orgasm starting, pooling low in his gut, but he wanted to hold out a bit longer, wanted their first time to last forever, as silly as that seemed. He let go of Lance’s thighs, leaning over and placing one on the pillow next to his head, the other dropping down to wrap around Lance’s neglected cock. “Lance,” he moaned, breath brushing over the other’s cheek. “You’re so perfect, Lance.”

Moaning his name, Lance turned his head to let their lips brush in a brief kiss. Already over-sensitized from coming twice already, he could hardly handle his touch. “It’s- It’s so much, so good. I’m gonna- I can’t- _¡Voy a venir!_ ” He was so close already when he wanted it to last as much as Keith did. “ _Por favor espera-_ ” Where the fuck was his English? “Keith- Keith, make it last. I can’t-”

Lance’s broken speech was causing Keith’s head to spin, but in such a good way, why did he have that kink. “No, Lance.” He threw his earlier plan of drawing this out into the trash. “Want you to come. I want you to come and then I want to lick it off of you.”

Oh. Oh, oh, oh. Lance wrapped his arms tightly around Keith. Blunt nails digging into his back as he desperately sought something to cling to, something that could make him hold on. But the angle of Keith’s thrusts angled just a little, just enough to have him seeing stars. “ _¡Joder!_ Keith!” He buried his face in his dark hair, hips jerking out of rhythm as he came.

“ _Yes, Lance_.” Keith watched as Lance’s release splattered his stomach, somehow looking hotter here than earlier in the shower. His hips stuttered as Lance spasmed around him, and it didn’t take but a couple more thrusts before he was spilling inside of Lance.

The sound he made was a mortifying sort of squeak, but he didn’t have any past experiences to compare the sudden wet heat to. It wasn’t bad, far from it, but new enough to make his back arch. A hand stole back into his hair, holding tight. “Feels- you feel so good, Keith.”

“So do you, Lance, oh my god.” Keith wanted to stay buried in Lance for the rest of forever, but their come would soon dry up and Keith wanted to clean them off. He pulled out gently, the drag of Lance’s skin around his over-sensitive cock nearly causing him to cry out. Slowly, he lowered Lance’s legs back down to the bed, and bent himself over so he could lick a stripe of come off of the other paladin’s abdomen. “You taste amazing, babe.”

“Oh my god.” Lance lifted his hands to press the heels of his palms to his eyes, toes curling. But his tongue felt better than his pulling out had, his ass stretched and wet and empty. His hands fell away so his fingers could tangle in his hair instead, tugging lightly and scritching his scalp. “It’s like you’re trying to kill me.”

“I like you too much to want to do that.” Keith smirked, lips dragging across Lance’s skin. “But I do want to clean up, so hold on.” With that, he rolled away and off the bed, padding back into the bathroom to grab a wet cloth.

Lance scrubbed his hands over his face, waiting for his heartrate to settle while he was gone. “ _Me gustas muchos_ ,” he murmured, hardly able to believe he’d babbled at him in Spanish. He really hoped he wouldn’t have to explain it all since he could hardly remember what all had been said. A lot of it had just been swearing, compliments on the size of his junk, and maybe he’d started with a couple of embarrassing romantic phrases because he was a stupid sap who was maybe a little more into Keith than he needed to be, far more than he’d intended. His heart fluttered, hands falling away from his face when he heard the red paladin reenter. He was just so freaking gorgeous, all angles and lean muscle. A Korean dreamboat with a dumb mullet.

A Korean dreamboat with a dumb mullet who had just taken his virginity really, really thoroughly. Holy crow. “So... hey.”

Keith couldn’t help but laugh as he came to a stop next to the bed; trust Lance to make it awkward. “Hi.” He climbed back up and situated himself between Lance’s legs again, using the cloth to wipe up the lube and come coating his thighs. Sitting back when he was through, he stared at Lance. “How’re you feeling?”

He blinked, a quip right on the tip of his tongue. _I feel as good as you look._ He was ready to say it. He doubted Keith would be surprised if he said it. But Lance sat up, wincing a little because, well, he wasn’t exactly used to having a dick up his ass or the aftermath that inspired, and cupped Keith’s cheeks to tug him close for a kiss. He kept it light, humming softly. “Really, seriously good.” His lips curved, thumbs caressing gentle circles beneath his eyes. “How about you?”

Keith thought about it for a second, his eyelids falling shut as Lance massaged his face. He’d just lost his virginity to one of the most annoying people in the galaxy, but sitting here with Lance now - quiet and contemplative - he realized he’d been wrong about him. “Great,” he croaked; he cleared his throat and tried again, “I feel great, Lance. I'm glad it was you.”

He wiggled a little, brushing his lips against either lowered eyelid. “ _Ojos más bonitos en la galaxia_ ,” he purred and pushed the blankets down so they could lay down. “Come on, pretty boy. I’m exhausted.”

“No arguments here,” Keith replied, yawning. Burrowing himself into the sheets, he wrapped his arms around Lance's middle and pulled him close until they were spooning. He pressed a wet kiss behind Lance's ear, muttering softly, “Good night, Lance.”

Lance smiled, letting his eyes close. He could hardly believe he was skipping out on his normal nightly routine, but there was no way he was moving. Proper skincare couldn’t stop just for space, but it could pause for sleepy cuddling. “‘Night, Keith.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spanish Translations (for those on mobile):  
>  _Te deseo_ \- I want you
> 
>  _Sólo puedo pensar en ti._ \- I can only think about you.
> 
>  _Eres tan lindo como una flor._ \- You’re as pretty as a flower
> 
>  _Dejame estar contigo._ \- Let me be with you
> 
>  _Eres divino_ \- You’re devine 
> 
> _Quiero que estés dentro de mi_ \- I want you inside me
> 
>  _Quiero que me cojas!_ \- I want you to fuck me
> 
>  _Voy a venir!_ \- I’m gonna come
> 
>  _Por favor espera_ \- Please wait
> 
>  _Joder_ \- Fuck
> 
>  _Me gustas muchos_ \- I like you a lot
> 
>  _Ojos más bonitos en la galaxia_ \- You have the most beautiful eyes in the galaxy 
> 
>  
> 
> Find us on Tumblr!  
> [SylviaW1991](http://syl-writes-stuff.tumblr.com/) & [amycoolz](http://montgomery.co.vu/)
> 
> Fic updates every Tuesday!  
> Schedule:  
>  ~~Ch. 1 - 8/9~~  
>  ~~Ch. 2 - 8/16~~  
>  ~~Ch. 3 - 8/23~~  
>  ~~Ch. 4 - 8/30~~  
>  ~~Ch. 5 - 9/10~~  
>  ~~Ch. 6 - 9/13~~


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hover over the Spanish phrases for the translations! And a great big shout out to tumblr user [Kawteeah](http://kawteeah.tumblr.com/) for checking over the translations for this fic! You're the best :D

For a week, they ended up falling asleep tangled together in Lance’s bed. Keith only teased him a little bit when he went back to his nightly facials, but he hadn’t slept with music on or the sleep mask. Keith’s steady breathing against his ear was soothing enough and he liked opening his eyes in the morning and seeing him. It was nice. Really nice.

And it was maybe still a secret from the rest of the team because they were both really enjoying their new relationship and didn’t necessarily want to go through the inevitable teasing that was sure to follow the announcement. At least it hadn’t affected their performance. They were a good team, had been even before acting on the mutual attraction, and Voltron could still be formed without issue. And heavy-sleeper Lance finally had someone to wake him up when alarms sounded.

“Shit.”

Keith sat bolt-upright as soon as the alarm started, rubbing his eyes to fight off his sleepiness. The lump next to him had yet to move, so he reached out and shook him, the mattress moving with the force of it. “Lance.” Nothing. He tried again, putting more muscle into it. “Lance!” Oh my god. Sitting up on his knees, he pushed until Lance fell out of the bed, shouting, “Lance, you fuck! Wake up!”

The blue paladin looked up from the tangle of sheets on the floor, pouting. “Rude.”

Keith tossed his arms up, gesturing wildly into the air. “Do you _not_ hear the alarm?”

Lance stretched with a lazy yawn. “That still doesn't have to mean you should just push me out of bed. Good morning to you too.” He rose to reach for his clothes, but not before reaching for Keith to press a pouting kiss to his lips despite his flailing. He would've much rather have climbed into bed and kept kissing, but he couldn’t ignore the alarms. “Let's go kick some butt or save somebody or something.”

Rolling his eyes, but dropping a brief kiss to Lance’s lips, Keith climbed out of bed, before realizing that he didn't have his uniform in Lance’s room. “Um. My uniform is back in my room.” It was going to take too much time to run back and change, his room being on the opposite end of the castle, but Allura would be disappointed if he wasn't properly prepared. And he was not about to disappoint the princess. “I guess I’ll go on ahead. Meet back up in the control room?”

“Aw, man.” Lance tugged his armor on, checking to make sure the bayard was still attached to his thigh. “Look, yeah, just go. I'll meet you at your room because it's going to take, like, five seconds for me to change, and you can just say you were late because you came to get me if anyone asks. Literally no one'll be surprised if I'm the reason why we're the last ones strolling in.” The offer was made without thought, a testament to how far they'd come since that first rocky day as a team. He would've argued against the suggestion of taking a fall for Keith until his face turned blue then, but times had changed.

“Okay, then. Uh, come over when you're done.” He was an idiot and he should have just waited for Lance to finish dressing, but he had to go and open his big, dumb mouth. Maybe Lance was rubbing off on him. They had been doing a lot of rubbing together lately. Was it possible to transfer stupidity and the ability to make dumb decisions through skin contact? If it were, that's definitely what had happened here, because there's no way that the logical part of Keith would have suggested splitting up, especially when the situation would have led to making out.

Whatever. The alarm was still blaring and he had to make sure he was suited up, along with Lance, and down to the control room as quickly as possible, or else somebody - probably Shiro - would come looking for them, and he didn’t want to have to explain this. Not yet. So he shook himself off and tried to ignore Lance’s pouty, disappointed face as he left the room, but it stuck in the back of his mind, making him feel worse.

It only took Lance a minute longer than the advertised five seconds to finish yanking on his armor. He splashed water over his face and patted it dry, lips quirking briefly before falling again on a sigh. He wanted to suggest that Keith start using his room to store his armor in to avoid this kind of thing, but wasn’t sure how that suggestion would go over. It was basically the equivalent of asking Keith to move in.

Oh, geez, he was in this way too deep. He _wanted_ Keith to move into his room. He _wanted_ Keith to share his space and smirk at the products taking over the counter. He just wanted Keith in so much more than just his bed, and it was terrifying. He'd just have to figure out just what he'd done to attract him in the first place and keep that going. Yeah. “Fuck me,” he muttered and slipped out of the room to sprint across the castle to reach Keith’s door.

He knocked on it while Allura’s voice joined the cacophony of alarms. “There's a small Galra fleet descending on this planet! There’s no time to meet! Get straight to your lions!”

“Aw, man. Keith!”

“Shit!” Keith cursed again as the door slid open, stuck inside the chestplate of his armor. “Could you grab my helmet?” He almost tripped trying to get into the hallway, righting himself against the wall and taking a deep breath in.

“Yeah.” Lance grabbed it, his own still in hand. “Don’t fall over. You'll bust your face or something.” He offered the helmet and a grin. “I'd be so sad.”

Keith took hold of it as soon as he was stable with his armor on, pulling Lance forward and into a kiss. “Thanks for your concern,” he muttered against his lips, smirking despite the blush trying to fight its way onto his cheeks. “We should get going.”

“Um. Yeah. Um...” Screw it. “ _Me encanta saber que estás conmigo_.” Lance couldn't resist a second kiss before he straightened and pulled his helmet on. “At least now we don’t have to be the last ones in the control room.” Just the last ones to their lions, but that posed less of a risk of being snickered at or berated. He grabbed Keith’s hand to tug him down the hall. “Come on.”

Before he could chicken out, Keith laced their fingers together and started to run. Lance’s touch, wherever he could get it, was addicting. Even if they were holding hands through their gloves, no actual skin-to-skin contact, he could still feel small shockwaves of pleasure from where they were connected. It surprised Keith, the effect Lance had on him. It took just a glance at those bright blue eyes of his for Keith to be lost.

He slid his gaze over to Lance just for a second, smiling at the red on the blue paladin’s cheeks. He was so fucked.

\----

“It’s about time you two got here,” was the only comment they got from Shiro as they joined the remaining three paladins in space.

Lance shrugged, more comfortable in the cockpit of the blue lion than he was anywhere else. Except Keith’s arms, but that was embarrassingly sappy and he was just going to cut those thoughts off right there. “Hey, we made it.”

“Probably because Lance wouldn’t wake up as usual,” Pidge cut in.

Lance didn’t bother to argue for once. “So what’s going on?”

Allura’s face filled a section of their screens. “What’s going on is the distress signal we picked up from this planet. As soon as we arrived, we began to see Galra warships.”

Coran pushed onto screen beside her, mustache fluffed and eyes wide. “And then the distress signals were cut off completely! We believe there’s a Galra takeover underway right now!”

“Okay, what’s the plan?” Keith asked over the comms, getting his lion into position. “Shiro?”

“If they’re already down there attacking, we need to get in there and intercept them right away.” There was a slew of agreement from the other paladins. “That being said, we need to be careful. We can’t just go in there guns blazing,” he paused, and Keith tightened his grip on the controls of his lion, able to hear his unspoken name in the split-second of silence. “We have to try to catch them off guard, _if_ they haven’t already detected us.”

“Understood,” he said through gritted teeth.

Lance appeared on a small part of Keith’s screen and only Keith’s screen, giving him a thumbs-up and a wink before blipping away again. “Well, they’re not shooting at us so that’s a good sign.”

“Yeah, great, we still don’t even really know what’s down there,” Hunk pointed out. “Maybe it’s not a takeover and they’re fighting some kind of monster.”

“Pssh. Hunk, they _are_ the monster. Cool it, bud.”

“I’m just saying-”

“Pidge, do you think you can slip into the atmosphere and get a good look?” Shiro interrupted.

“Yes, sir!” The green lion slipped away, flying down and disappearing into what looked like clouds, but they were light orange instead of white like they were on Earth.

A minute later, Pidge’s voice came back over the comms. “Breaker, breaker, do you guys read me?”

“What do you have, Pidge?” asked Shiro.

“Here, I’ll show you.” The screens in their lions flickered on, able to see what Pidge was seeing through her lion’s eyes. “This area is really mountainous.”

“Whoa!” Hunk’s eyes rounded. “Are those-?”

“Beaches,” Lance breathed. As the green lion surfed over the mountain range, it opened into a small bay. There were three good-sized villages dotting the landscape, and Lance’s grip tightened on the controls. At least one of them had to be a fishing village, and it was like sensory overload. The smell of seasalt and suntan lotion. The sounds of girls shrieking when they were splashed or kids squealing as they chased after hermit crabs and sought sand dollars. The taste of a hot dog bought off a little cart while sun beat down, warming his skin while his toes stayed cool in the surf.

_“Lance, don’t you drop that into the ocean! I’m not buying you another one!”_

_“I won’t, mom, geez!”_ Except he did. He always did.

When the lion’s gaze shifted from the ocean to find the Galra ships - “Maybe they’re hiding in the trees,” she was saying - Lance’s mind stayed rooted in memory. He could still see sparkling waves and it was like someone had reached into his chest, grabbed his heart, and squeezed ruthlessly.

Keith blocked out what Pidge was saying at the moment, instead focusing on Lance, who had grown uncharacteristically quiet. He opened up a private channel to him on the comms. “Lance?” he asked softly. “Are you alright?”

“What? Yeah, I’m-” He wanted to go home. He needed to go home. “I’m fine,” he lied, clearing his throat when his voice cracked on the word. “Everything’s fine.”

“You’re thinking about them, aren’t you? Your family?” He waited a moment for Lance to give him a response, but none came. “You’ll see them again, Lance. It’ll be okay.” Keith wanted to promise him that they’d be back on Earth soon, but he had no way of knowing - none of them did - when they would be returning. He could only try to comfort Lance as best as he could in the meantime.

He wanted to snap at him. What did the _orphan_ know about how he felt? But he bit it back and ducked his head, pressing a fist against one eye to stop them both from watering. It would only hurt Keith if he said it, and they weren’t going to have that fight again. He didn’t want to have that fight. He wanted to go home, even if the closest he could get was hiding in his room with his arms wrapped tight around Keith. The lion grumbled softly, feeding its understanding into Lance’s mind. “I know, Keith. I just need a minute.”

“Okay, Lance.” He nodded, even though the blue paladin couldn’t see him. “Just… I’m here, if you need me.” This time not waiting for a response, he cut off their private channel and tuned back into what Pidge was saying.

“-not sure, but it looks like there’s a forest of some sort past the mountains over that way.” It was hard to tell on the screen, but the “forest” was just on the other side of the mountain range after the village farthest away. “Those trees would certainly be able to camouflage them really well. They look like they have blue and purple leaves, but it’s hard to determine exactly from this far.”

Shiro’s voice cut back in, “Do not advance, Pidge. We don’t know what we’re getting into here. We’ll come down there and regroup and think of a game plan.”

“Be careful,” Allura ordered. “If this is a takeover, it’s not a normal one.”

“At least it’s not how they did it ten thousand years ago,” Coran added. “It’s quiet.”

“Then we go in just as quietly. We’ll use the mountains for cover. Team Voltron, ready to see what’s down there?”

“Yeah!” was the unanimous agreement amongst three of the four younger paladins. The one absent voice was the most noticeable.

“Uh... Lance?” Hunk tried. “You fall asleep there, or what?”

There was another blip of silence before his voice crackled over the comms. “Yeah, no, I’m- I was absolutely listening. Going down. Hiding in mountains. Purple trees.” Gorgeous oceans. “Let’s do this.”

Biting his lip, Keith waited until he saw Lance’s lion moving after Shiro’s, wanting to stay behind him to keep an eye on him. He was worried, worried that Lance was going to get distracted and get hurt, or worse. God, he didn’t want to think about it.

The four of them touched down at the base of the mountain that Pidge was already hiding behind, and a quick scan showed that the atmosphere was safe for them to breathe. Keith exited his lion first, stepping out onto the soft land and drawing his bayard just in case; he cased the area before letting the others know that it was clear.

Lance was the last one out of his lion, not a sign of his tearful distress reflected in his grin as he positively swaggered over to the group. He didn’t know if he was disappointed or relieved that he couldn’t smell the beaches from this point, his inhales something just a shade away from dirt and leaps away from pine. The purple trees smelled more like some kind of lavender vanilla.

“Paladins,” Allura said through the comms, “Coran and I are picking up signs of their ships nearby but no true Galra soldiers.”

“Almost like they’re sending droids out and about for their own reconnaissance!” Coran chirped, clearly fascinated by the idea. “We may actually have found them before they have solid plans in line for the planet.”

“So, what? We go into the woods, blast their ships right off the planet, and we stamp this place Voltron Protected,” Lance suggested, hands miming pressing a stamp onto something. “Easy-peasy.”

Shiro sent him a look that tried not to be amused, but his eyes crinkled at the corners. “Not quite that easy-peasy, Lance.”

“Man,” he groaned, trying not to suggest a plan involving the ocean. He couldn’t even think up a plan involving the ocean. And he kind of just wanted to put his feet in it anyway. That wouldn’t help much.

“Shouldn’t we go into the village?” asked Pidge. “We should make sure they haven’t already been captured, right?”

“We can’t bring too much attention to ourselves. If they do have droids here, they’d be taking cover in the trees near there.” Shiro shook his head. “We’d be outed for sure.”

Keith crossed his arms over his chest. “So we do what, then? Hide behind this mountain until things get crazy?” He hated the idea of waiting idly around until things went south, preferring a more direct course of action.

“What if things never _get_ crazy, and we're just hiding behind a mountain for the rest of our lives?” Lance added, hands resting on his hips before one could try and find its way around Keith’s waist. Plan now, flirting later. Touching even later than that.

Allura’s voice was all mirth. “I don’t believe it will come to that. Coran and I are sending you the coordinates for the ships we've detected. One is nearby, two more are near the village. If you can access one of the ship’s control rooms, we'll be able to pinpoint where its soldiers are.”

“Right!” Pidge lit up. “And I can hack their servers with Shiro and find out their mission here.”

“What, uh, what should the rest of us do? Just be backup?”

“We could climb.” The surprisingly helpful suggestion came from Lance, his gaze lifted towards the top of the peaks. “Jet packs, a few solid footholds here and there, and we can hit the top and use our visors like binoculars and get a better look at what's going down at the village.”

“Okay, except the jet packs don’t like me,” Hunk pointed out. “I can go with Shiro and Pidge as a protective detail.” He mimed punching out one of the Galra’s droids.

“That would just leave Lance and Keith.” Pidge leered at Keith. “You two gonna climb the mountain?”

Keith had to try really hard not to choke on his answer. “Yeah, we’ll get a good bird’s eye view.” He glared daggers at Pidge, who remained unfazed, before shifting his eyes over to Lance. “Well, let’s grab our gear and get going.”

“Excellent. Coran and I will keep watch from up here and let you all know if anything changes.”

“Understood, princess.” Shiro hit a button on his arm, the real one, and pulled up a small holographic screen. “This way, you two. Keep close. Lance, Keith - be careful.”

“Pssh. No problem. It's basically just a hill.” With his normal overconfidence backing him up, Lance strode towards the mountainside.

Shiro laid a hand on Keith’s shoulder. “Keep an eye on him,” he encouraged quietly. “We don’t want another repeat of last week’s distraction.”

“Got it.” Keith didn’t want a repeat of that particular distraction, either, still remembering the hurt he had felt before they got everything smoothed out. “Don’t worry, I won’t let him do anything stupid.”

“Good to hear.” With that he, Pidge, and Hunk were off through the trees, leaving Keith and Lance blissfully alone.

Keith walked over and met Lance on a ledge at the base of the mountain. “Shiro wants me to keep an eye on you,” he said, smirking. “Make sure you don’t get into trouble.”

Lance bumped their hips together. “Oh, yeah? And how do you plan to do that when I'm way ahead of you?” His jetpack was already activated, hissing as he leapt upwards to latch onto the first solid foothold. “Race to the top, go!”

“Hey!” Keith shouted, starting his jetpack and jumping up after him. The cheater was, unfortunately, way ahead of him already, but Keith was making some solid headway. He got close enough to almost be able to grab onto Lance’s ankle at one point, but he was _just_ out of reach, and Keith punched the red stone in frustration.

When Keith finally made it to the top, hauling himself over the edge, he pointed angrily at Lance. “You cheated!”

“Me? Cheat?” Lance placed a hand over his heart, lashes fluttering behind his visor. “I would never. I merely gave myself a strategic advantage. Don’t be a sore loser, pretty boy.”

“Strategic advantage, my ass.” He turned his jetpack off, but didn’t fold it away just yet, when a thought occurred to him at the stupid pet name Lance insisted on calling him. “Uh, the comms _are_ disabled, right?”

Lance flushed, pulling his helmet off to check. “Yeah. Voice is off, but audio’s on if we get a call. But I haven't heard anyone else’s chatter, so they must be off right now too.”

Thank Christ. “Okay, good.” He took his own helmet off for a moment, ruffling his hair to unstick it from the back of his neck.

He really shouldn’t, but Lance just had to lean forward. He twined a strand of dark hair around his index finger before stealing a kiss. “You cut the line off before I could say thanks, so... there you go. Thanks for getting it, or at least trying. They’re basically the same.”

“You didn’t seem to want to talk at the time. I didn’t want to push you.” Keith caught Lance’s hand in his and squeezed in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. “I meant it, Lance, I’m here for you. We all are.”

“I know.” Lance laced their fingers together. He did know, really. Space-family was pretty awesome, but it wasn’t quite the same as Earth-family. It couldn’t be, but at least they were just as good in their own, weird ways.

Shiro’s voice came through their comms, loud and clear even with their helmets in their laps. “You two reach that mountaintop yet?”

Lance shifted his free hand to activate his mic, lips curling into a pleased smirk. “Sure did. Just enjoying some seriously gorgeous views.” His gaze didn’t leave Keith’s.

“You need to focus on the village. We’re coming up on the ship now, so communication is on an emergency basis only from here on out.”

Keith fought back a blush unsuccessfully; Lance’s lines were usually so cringe-worthy, so he was surprised that he delivered the smoothest one he’d ever heard directed at him. “No problem,” he responded into his helmet, cutting it off once more. “Damn, Lance…”

“What? No ‘shut up, Lance?’ I’m shocked, amazed, and maybe you make me crazy happy, so that’s in there too.” He hadn’t meant to admit that, but Keith’s blush was just too pretty and he really was happy being close to him. If this hadn’t been a mission, it could’ve made for a passable date. Alas, “We should probably actually get to work though, right?”

“Yeah.” They made their way over to the edge and laid down on their fronts, peering out over the landscape. Not actually having to do with the height, Keith found his stomach tying itself in knots; Lance’s confession was unexpected and it was causing such an intense reaction in him. When they got back to the ship, Keith was going to drag Lance back to his room and show him just how crazy happy he was making him, too.

For now, though, they had a job to do.

He put his helmet back on and switched on his visor’s zoom. “Do you see anything yet?” he asked Lance.

“Just the beach,” he admitted with a sigh. The sky had more of a golden-orange tint than a blue one, so the colors reflecting off the water were like fire. There was something romantic in that, Lance was sure, with him being a guardian spirit of water and Keith the one of fire. But he couldn't think of a way to word it poetically or by way of awful pick-up line, so he left it alone.

His gaze reluctantly shifted from the waves crashing to shore to follow the beaches, shifting just a little closer to Keith in search of comfort from what had become a familiar source. “There’s a kid,” he realized. “At least I think he’s a kid. Look about halfway between this village and the middle one.”

The inhabitants of this world, at least the ones on this beach, appeared like something akin to something out an old black and white horror film. Flaps akin to fish fins fluttered where its ears would be were it human, and visible slits at its neck fluttered with every panted breath as he ran towards the center village. He kept looking back over his shoulder as though terrified that he would be followed, but Lance saw nothing as he searched along the coast for any following droids.

There was nothing at all until he finally, really took a good look at the village. The pure, vibrant fury that worked through him was rare. Sure, he got mad from time-to-time, but it was the sort of mad one might expect from a petulant child. He knew this; he ignored it. But actual, true anger? That took time to develop. It had to be nurtured. He had to really want to hold onto his temper if he actually wanted to be mad about something.

Except when a Galra droid ripped a terrified child away from its family. That seemed to hit some sort of warp drive button, shooting his temper from nostalgic sadness to utterly pissed off in a nanosecond. “What the _fuck_?”

He smacked two buttons, activating the comms and sending an image feed to the Castle of Lions. “Allura, Coran, are you guys getting this?”

“Yes, It’s... How awful.”

“Looks like they’re rounding them up.” Coran tsked. “Separating them by age like cattle.”

And picking and choosing from there, the younger looking ones quite literally being herded to the woods where they knew the Galra ships waited. All Lance could see were families being torn apart. And that was _not_ happening. His bayard was in his hands before he could think twice, shifting into the large rifle as he jumped up and began to skid down the mountain. 

Fuck. That.

“Lance, what are you doing? You can’t-” He switched Allura off, so she went to the other paladin instead. “Keith! You have to stop him. Running in there is _not_ a good plan!”

Damn it. “ _Lance_!” He had to turn off his zoom to be able to see what exactly was going on, but as soon as he saw the blue paladin, already halfway down, he paled. It would take too long to reach him by gliding down with the aid of his jetpack, so he threw caution to the wind, pushed himself up, and dived off the edge.

With his jetpack controls at the ready, he let himself freefall, hoping to reach the bottom before Lance could make it there. His helmet calculated the distance from the ground and his velocity, and he was able to activate his pack just above the treeline. It was a rough landing where he ended up several yards away, but the adrenalin pumping through his system was enough to send him hurtling back to cut Lance off.

Keith grabbed Lance’s shoulders as they crashed into each other, each of their momentums moving in opposite directions, sending them toppling into the dirt. “ _Lance, stop_!”

Lance let his bayard shrink, snapping it back into nothing through whatever magic science it was that made these suits work and pushed up to try and get him off. Keith didn’t budge. “Weren’t you even paying attention? They’re separating them, tearing those families apart. What do they even want those people for? To fight in their arenas or dig in mines or- or whatever! We’re supposed to stop the Galra from doing crap exactly like this, Keith, and I’m _not_ laying around to let it happen!”

“I know, Lance, but you have to think rationally. You rushing in there by yourself and trying to take on who _knows_ how many Galra droids at once is not the answer.” He sighed heavily. “I know this is upsetting, but _please_ , think this through. I don’t want to see you get hurt.” Or worse, but he wasn’t going to voice that disturbing thought. He couldn’t, because that was _not_ going to happen.

“I can’t- I can’t let this happen, Keith.” He grabbed his shoulders. “I _won’t_ let this happen. They can’t just split these families apart. They can’t just-” He shook his head. “I can’t sit and watch. I have to _do_ something, okay? Just- Help me do something.” His hands slid up, cupping Keith’s cheeks. “Please.”

“Of course I'll help. That's what I'm here for, right?” He let himself have a moment of weakness to nuzzle into Lance's hand. “We just need to be a little bit more prepared.” It was weird hearing those words from his own mouth because usually Keith was the one rushing headlong into danger. Then again, he'd never had much to lose before now. Staring down at him, he decided for the both of them that Lance was not going to put his life on the line like that. “I'll be right there with you.”

He didn’t want to take the time to prepare. Gun blazing and sword drawn - no problem. It wasn’t like the Balmera had been. This planet wasn’t a living creature. It just had living creatures on it who were trying to live their lives. He pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes, pushing his helmet off in the process, and actually tried to think. The planet wasn’t living, but there were kids in the village. Bystanders. Going in ready to fight would just put them all in danger.

And if Keith was right by his side, he’d be in danger too.

His hands fell away so he could meet Keith’s gaze anew. He couldn’t just, like, _let_ him get hurt and he couldn’t risk hurting the inhabitants. That wasn’t part of being a paladin. “I... Maybe... Maybe we try the ship they’re putting people in. Find a back door and let them out.”

Keith could work with that. “Yeah, okay. Cut them off before they can do anymore damage, yeah? Then we can rescue those villagers that were already taken. Hopefully Pidge has already hacked her way in.” Having calmed Lance down enough, he pushed himself up, offering a hand to help the other up. Then he switched his comm back on to ask, “Pidge, you make any progress yet?”

“Just about,” her voice crackled back through their helmets, dragging out the words, “Aaaand got it!”

It was silent for a moment and then the other three paladins gasped collectively.

“What?” Lance wondered, yanking his helmet back on. “What is it?”

“Oh, man.” Hunk groaned pitifully. “I'm never gonna be able to look at a fish sandwich the same way again.”

“That's disgusting,” Pidge replied.

“Wha- I'm just _saying_.”

“Guys,” Shiro interrupted. “Calm down so we can handle this rationally. Now from what we're reading here, it looks like the Galra have definite plans for this planet. They haven't completely taken it over, but they've been using it for... other purposes.”

Lance's gaze shifted back to the village. They didn't have as good a look from where they were, only just able to make out the rooftops, but they could handle the jog. “What other purposes?”

“Ah...”

“They _eat_ people!” Hunk exclaimed. “They come down here every few years, take their kids, and they eat them! And then they take some of the slightly older ones to use in their mines or- or as whatever else!”

“And it looks like one of their ships is already getting ready for take-off.” Pidge let out a sound that was pure disgust. “There's a Galra warship nearby, too, ready to pick them up after they're done.”

Lance found Keith's hand, gripping it tightly. It wasn't a takeover. This was a harvest. Gone a few years just to come back and reap the population for their own needs - slavery and... and food. And it was such an unimportant stop that they only sent machines to do it. It was sick, Lance's stomach rolling. “We're going in.”

“Lance-”

“What? We're close, we've got visual.” Almost. “Pidge can give us a map of the ship, so we can sneak in, no problem, take out whatever crew is left inside and let those prisoners know that they're not leaving their families after all.”

“You can't take on two ships on your own,” Shiro argued. “It's not safe for either of you. Wait for us to meet you, and-”

Lance closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to see if it would help steady him. Nope. “We're going into the one that's about to take off. I'm not letting it leave the surface as long as there are kids inside. You guys can catch up.”

He switched off Shiro’s further protests and his mic, looking to Keith. “Please just... Don't try and stop me this time. If they take off, it's not like Allura and Coran can engage it. Not with kids inside. We have to stop it now.”

Keith nodded solemnly, just as disgusted as the rest of them. This whole situation was deplorable and he felt like he was going to vomit. He couldn’t even imagine how Lance was feeling. With their hands still interlocked, he began to run towards the trees, hoping that they would be fast enough to cut off the ship before it left land.

Lance almost tripped, surprised by the wordless support but ridiculously grateful for it. He switched the audio back on in time to hear Shiro sigh his begrudged blessing for the thing he and Keith were doing regardless. They darted into the woods around the village, both keeping eyes and ears out for enemies as they drew nearer to the ships. Thankfully, they all seemed to have their attention set on the village and only two guards stood on either side of the open hatch.

Lance retrieved his bayard, swinging the massive rifle onto his shoulder before it had even fully formed, and fired off a silent shot that pierced both sets of armor. The droids dropped. It normally would've been one hell of a gloating moment and he was absolutely going to later, but he only glanced at Keith. “We should drag them inside before anyone notices.”

Keith stayed silent, deciding to treat this as a stealth mission. That, and Lance was _scary_ when he was well and truly pissed; he didn’t want to set him off more than he already was. Unsheathing his own bayard, he pointed to the guard on the right and then at Lance.

He nodded, hefting the droid up while Keith grabbed the guy on the left. They made their way inside soundlessly, the droids deposited in a corner. “Cut one of the arms off. We might need a droid hand to open these doors unless you're secretly a genius hacker.” He smiled briefly, honestly uncomfortable with this much broiling anger. The last time he'd been this angry, he'd gotten into a hell of a fight in the middle of an arcade because a group of jerks had made fun of his little brother’s dark skin. It had almost kept him out of the garrison, but his oldest sister had pulled some strings. This could have worse consequences than keeping him out of a school, so he had to deal with it.

Swinging his sword down, Keith sliced through his droid’s arm, the sound of metal on metal causing him to grind his teeth. He held on to it as they started walking farther into the ship, the hallway in front of them splitting in two. “Which way do you suppose we should go?”

Lance pulled up the map Pidge had sent them, the two paladins golden dots. It didn’t show where the prisoners were, unfortunately, but he was wary of splitting up. Left made more sense, the larger cargo hold area more likely to be a good place to put a bunch of scared kids together than the smaller cell-like rooms to the right. But going to the prisoners first was an emotional reaction. He pushed it aside.

“Right. Control room’s up here, and we need to keep this ship from going airborne. Sabotage, then we sneak those kids out and get them to hide in the trees. Maybe the others’ll be here by then and we can take the second ship. We should-” Lance looked up when he heard footsteps in the corridor, but didn't bother to duck and hide. Fuck stealth. They were _eating kids_. He fired a shot, downing the droid. “We should get going.”

It was clear to Keith that Lance was not going to stop until he had taken out every single Galra drone on this planet, so he would follow and provide as much backup as he could. “Lead the way.”

Lance lowered the map and started to the right, the paladins moving quickly and silently except for the dozen Galra ‘bots that Lance took out with a mindless ease that was almost painfully unlike him. But it made him feel better in a way he knew was on the twisted side. Like plowing his fist into a teenager’s face while his brother rubbed a teary eye and wondered why they'd called his skin dirty.

They slipped into the control room with the detached arm’s hand providing easy access, and the four drones inside fell with four quick shots before they could finish saying “halt.” He switched his mic on. “We're in the control room. We're going to bust up the controls. You guys on your way?”

“A little busy. We broke this ship’s controls apart too, and the droids didn’t react very well to the alarms,” Pidge replied, the sounds of a fight filtering in alongside her voice.

“Just try and lay low,” Shiro added. “Don’t do anything too drastic or draw attention to yourselves. We'll be there soon.”

“Uh...” Lance scanned the room, considering the number of enemies he'd taken out. “Okay.”

“Wait, Lance, before you start destroying stuff.” Keith walked over to the control panel and looked over it for a moment. “I’m no expert, but Pidge taught me a thing or two. I can try to open the cell doors from here so we can get those kids out.” His fingers started flitting across the panel, trying to figure out what was what. “I’m not sure what exactly these symbols mean, but maybe… there?”

The screen in front of him flashed red for a second before turning a solid green.

“I think that worked?”

Behind them in the hallway he heard a bunch of terrified shouts. Keith looked at Lance with wide eyes before racing out of the control room.

Lance followed, stunned to see the fish-like alien kids swarming the hallways. “Holy crow,” he breathed and shot the control panel for the door. Sealing them out was just as good as breaking the controls entirely. “Let's get them out of here. Keep an eye out for Galra.”

He whistled loudly, the sound foreign enough to the children to garner wide-eyed stares. “First, do you guys understand me?” Nods. “Great. Follow us. We're busting you out.”

Keith helped round them all up and then escort them out, Lance in front and himself bringing up the rear, brandishing his sword. They made it through the ship with no snags, able to get the kids outside to the relative safety of the trees. “Stay hidden,” he instructed, but they seemed to be in the clear at the moment.

Then Allura’s voice cut through the quiet. “Paladins! There's a Galra warship in the atmosphere!” There was a loud, booming rattle, both her and Coran audibly affected. “Get to your lions now!”

Lance hesitated, thinking of the second ship, but if they took down the warship, there went their ride anyway. “Kids are safe and sound, so we're on our way.”

“Let’s go,” agreed Keith, and started to follow Lance back through the forest towards their lions.

They didn’t make it very far.

A Galra droid, which had been posted up just behind the treeline at the start of the forest, stepped in front of them, laser gun already charged and aimed at Lance. Keith saw red, and before Lance could heave his rifle up to fire back, he leapt forward, shoving the blue paladin out of the way just as the drone released the trigger. The laser hit him right on the side of his abdomen, singeing through the one part of his uniform not covered by armor. The pain was immediate, and he doubled over as soon as he hit the forest floor.

“Keith!” Lance fired quickly, adding another robot to his tally for the day, and hit his knees. Bayard sheathed, he covered the tear in fabric and skin with the palm of his hand. “You just- Oh my god, Keith.”

“What happened?” Shiro barked, Lance hardly able to hear him. There was a roar somewhere in the back of his mind, and he knew his lion was inbound.

“Come on, buddy.” He didn’t have any bandages, nothing to stem the bleeding. They'd have to wait for his lion. “Can you stand? We've gotta- There's no room for Blue to land in here. We need to get to the beach.”

Coughing, Keith grasped weakly onto Lance’s shoulder. “I’m f- _fine_!” He wasn’t, but Lance was safe, and that’s all that mattered at the moment. “Just… help me up.”

Together, they managed to get Keith on his feet. Lance kept an arm banded around him, keeping his hand on the wound and hating the way warm wetness seeped through the fabric of his glove. “You’re an idiot. You’re not supposed to be the idiot. Did you miss that memo?” He sealed their lips together, hard and a little desperate, not caring if the sound carried through the mics when they broke apart. “Just- Lean on me, and let's move.”

Keith fought to keep himself upright against Lance’s side, limping slowly next to him through the brush.

“What’s _happening_?” Hunk’s sudden voice was hysterical through Keith’s helmet.

“Hunk, calm down,” Shiro scolded, “Lance, _Keith_ , what happened over there? Are you okay?”

“We’re fi-”

“You are _not_ fine!” Lance was almost as hysterical as Hunk, but he did have his teammate’s - his lover’s - blood on his hands. “You don’t push people out of the way, get shot, and just be _fine_.”

“He did _what_?” Pidge squawked.

“Lance, get Keith to his lion as soon as you can,” Allura instructed, Lance ready to snap back because, seriously, what did she think he was doing? “Keith, you _need_ to come back here and get healed at once.”

Keith wanted to argue, to tell the princess that they needed him to help fight off the warship currently attacking the castle, that he would be alright. But he looked over at Lance, saw the obvious distress written across his face, and visibly deflated, slumping even further into his side. “Okay.”

Worry burned hotter than anger, Lance bundling Keith into his lion the moment it landed. There weren’t exactly a lot of medical supplies on board, most of their healing taken care of on the ship, but there was at least a sticky spray to help seal the wound. It was far from a permanent fix, though, his wound deep and the medicine stinging. Lance winced when Keith did, hating having to add to his pain even for a moment. “I can’t believe you,” he muttered, his lion running through the sky to get to the waiting red lion. “I seriously can’t believe you.”

Keith tried to smirk, but he was in too much pain, face scrunching and ruining it. Another rough cough bubbled its way up from his lungs. “Lance, I’ll be alright.” His voice was so hoarse he didn’t even recognize it. “You wouldn’t have been, though. I had to get you out of the way.”

“Fine, but you have a built-in shield attached to your arm. Next time you have to get somebody out of the way, use it.” His tone was sharp, more than a little annoyed, but he held Keith close and gently stroked his uninjured side.

They could see the other three lions shoot skyward, Shiro’s voice coming in. “We’ve got this. Lance, follow Keith and make sure he gets into the castle safely.”

“Allura’s already heading down to wait outside the hangar,” Coran added, at the controls to add his own fire support against the warship even while the particle barrier crackled.

They finally reach Keith’s lion a couple minutes later, and Keith was able to slowly get inside with Lance’s help. He sat down in the pilot’s chair, cringing when it slid him up to the controls and jerked to a stop. In the back of his mind he heard a soft purring, knowing that Red was apologizing to him; he rubbed the dash fondly. “It’s okay, girl,” he whispered, sighing. He turned his head to look at Lance, still hovering over him. “I should be okay to get back to the castle with you behind me.”

Lance grinned, latching onto the chance to tease him to soothe his nerves. “That’d be a change of pace.”

Keith’s face flushed in embarrassment; he’d really walked into that one. “Shut up and get to your lion,” he said, a slight smile on his face.

Lance pointed finger guns at him and winked, but went to his own lion without further teasing. He needed to get to a healing pod. “Come on, Blue. Let’s get him taken care of.” He gripped the controls, lifting off when the red lion did, and following close behind.

He looked towards the other three, well-equipped to handle one warship. Hunk smashing the ion cannon with Pidge and Shiro lasering the sides, the explosions evidence enough that they had everything under control. The particle barrier around the castle parted to allow the two lions entrance to the hangar, Lance quick to climb out of Blue.

Allura helped him get Keith out of the hangar and up to the medbay, where they were able to get him out of his armor. “I hope you realize that you’re both in trouble for the way you acted.”

Lance shrugged. He was pretty much always in trouble, and the kids had been saved. Once Keith was healed, his life would be pretty much right back to normal as far as Paladin standards were concerned. “Okay.”

Keith ducked his head as he stepped into the healing pod; he was no stranger to trouble, but hearing the princess’s disappointment was still hard to have directed at him. “Somebody had better be here when I wake up,” he demanded, brushing aside the feeling of shame that came bubbled up in response to Allura’s words. “I don’t want to come out of this thing all healed up just to get a broken nose after I fall on the floor.”

“Of course, Keith,” Allura answered, pressing a button on the control panel.

The tube slid shut, and the last thing Keith saw before he blacked out was Lance’s worried, smiling face on the other side of the frosty glass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spanish Translations (for those on mobile):
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  _Me encanta saber que estás conmigo._ \- I love knowing that you’re with me.
> 
>  
> 
> Find us on Tumblr!  
> [SylviaW1991](http://syl-writes-stuff.tumblr.com/) & [amycoolz](http://montgomery.co.vu/)
> 
> Fic updates every Tuesday!  
> Schedule:  
>  ~~Ch. 1 - 8/9~~  
>  ~~Ch. 2 - 8/16~~  
>  ~~Ch. 3 - 8/23~~  
>  ~~Ch. 4 - 8/30~~  
>  ~~Ch. 5 - 9/10~~  
>  ~~Ch. 6 - 9/13~~


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings: hand-jobs, blow-jobs, come eating, rimming, felching  
> This chapter's just... fucking filthy sap? whoops
> 
> Also, there's a lot of Spanish in this one, I'm so sorry (I'm not).
> 
> Hover over the Spanish phrases for the translations! And a great big shout out to tumblr user [Kawteeah](http://kawteeah.tumblr.com/) for checking over the translations for this fic! You're the best :D
> 
> One of our lovely commenters brought it to my attention that you _can_ see the translations on mobile!
> 
> "The translations actually work on mobile, you just have to hold your finger on the phrase for a second until it pulls up the right-click options. It says the translation right above the options "open" and "cancel". Not as easy as the hover but i am able to read translations all the way through. :)"
> 
> Thank you, [ daughterofthestars ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/daughterofthestars/pseuds/daughterofthestars)! You get a special shout-out for being awesome! ♥

Lance didn’t leave the Castle of Lions again. He removed his armor at some point, more comfortable waiting in his jeans. Hunk gave him his jacket during one of his stops in medbay, pointing out how cold the place could get. Lance vaguely remembered replying, but he couldn’t have repeated it.

At least they'd taken out the Galra warship and informed the planet that they no longer had to fear the Galra. Word was supposed to travel to the other villages dotting the fiery coastline, Lance still unable to come up with a good way to compare the scenery to the way he felt being with Keith. There had to be a way, right? Fire and water coming together. It was ripe for cheesy lines to make Keith punch his shoulder or roll his eyes and tell him to shut up.

He really wanted Keith to come out the tube, whole and able to punch him or roll his eyes. Guilt ate at him. It was his own fault that Keith had gotten hurt. It was _his_ fault they'd gone close enough for Keith to even get hurt. They should've stayed on the mountain and observed. They should've stuck to the plan.

The ship full of kids literally wouldn’t have gone anywhere. The other paladins and their activities had been what had set off alarms to have the warship drawing close enough for defeat. It had crashed in that wild ocean, apparently, and all three droid ships had been destroyed after Pidge had taken all the available information from their computers.

So the kids had gotten to their families faster than they would have otherwise. Big deal. They would've gotten there anyway, but he'd gone crazy because he _still_ couldn't stop thinking about his family. He'd himself been torn away from family, though Galra’s involvement in that was sketchy at best. He'd been the one to fly Blue through a wormhole. He'd agreed to start this adventure.

But with Keith in a cryo-tube due to Lance's stupid anxieties, he found himself doubting that he would've agreed had he known all the consequences.

“You know staring at him won't make him heal any faster,” Shiro pointed out, breaking into his reverie.

“Maybe it will if I just stare hard enough.”

“I somehow doubt that.”

“Shun the nonbeliever.”

Shiro crouched down beside Lance, the blue paladin not adjusting his lazy sprawl, but didn't crack a smile. Lance hadn't been expecting him too. “What's been going on with you lately? Do we have to let Coran put those things on our heads so we can root through your head-hole?”

Lance huffed. “Don’t really think that's necessary, Shiro.”

“I'm starting to. This is two major missions that have gone south with you as a direct link.” He laid his hand on Lance’s shoulder when he winced. “I don’t say that as a criticism, Lance, just an observation. I asked Keith to look out for you this time, but...”

“Southbound.”

“Essentially. So what is it?”

Keith knew. He didn’t have a family in the way Lance did, but he knew the problem and he was doing his best to understand. And he had helped. Lance didn’t feel nearly as mopey or sad about everything, not counting his current frame of mind, but Keith wasn't there. Or, well, he was _there_ , but not available for a solid, tight embrace or soul-searing kisses that made him feel like he was home after all.

Lance swallowed. “It was the kids. I saw... We were up on the mountaintop, and I saw a little kid get ripped right out of their mom’s arms. I've got a really big family, Shiro. Really tight-knit, y’know? My grandparents even live with us like built-in babysitters that we never even needed because my mom always stayed at home. I just... I thought about my mom when I saw that kid getting ripped away by a _robot_. How messed up is that? My mom’d be a mess if that happened to one of us. I couldn’t let it go.”

Shiro sighed. “I understand that, Lance, but you have to think of the team. What if it hadn’t been one ship? What if a fleet had shown up?”

He'd gotten Keith shot, so no Voltron. They all would've died. Fresh guilt ate at his stomach, though he doubted that had been Shiro’s intention. “I know it was wrong,” he said quietly, studying the way Keith’s bangs fell across his brow. “But... but they were just kids.”

“I know, Lance.” Shiro glanced up at Keith as well, humming softly before holding up two seashell bracelets. “Some of those ‘just kids’ made these for you and Keith. We're going to be around here for another day just to make sure that the planet’s inhabitants all know that Voltron is back. A lot of them live in the waters, so it's been a little difficult getting the messages out.”

“Pidge working on it?”

“Of course I am,” she announced, stepping in with her laptop in her grasp. Hunk was right behind her, his gaze shooting towards the pod Keith was healing in. “It's just going to require identifying the right frequency sound travels at under the waves. It's a little different from Earth.”

Everything was, but Lance took the bracelets with a smile that masked the way his heart clenched. That was Earth. He slipped it over his wrist, the shells cool against his skin. It definitely made him feel good about saving them again. Not “getting Keith shot was worth it” good, but good.

“How long before he's out?” Hunk wondered, tapping the glass.

“I don’t know. Shiro says staring won't help, but I think he's delusional. Of course it helps.”

“Actually, it won’t change things one way or the other.” When the Alteans stepped in, Allura’s smile fond, anticipation fluttered. Only a few ticks left, then, if everyone was in there.

He tried to rise slowly, stretching languidly to hide the eagerness to see him awake and conscious and whole, but wasn’t sure how well he managed. He slipped the second bracelet into the pocket of his jacket to give to Keith when they had a moment alone. It could be a while, knowing full-well how close the members of Team Voltron were. They'd fussed over him when he'd been injured enough for one. It was only fair that they fuss over Keith right back.

Lance folded his arms behind his head, listening idly to the chatter around him. Seconds versus ticks remained a hot button item, proving yet again that Team Voltron was comprised totally of nerds. But at least he knew when there were only five increments left since Allura casually said something.

Except, had he been blessed with even a quarter of everyone else’s observational skills, he would’ve realized that the information hadn’t been casual and that he was the only one anywhere near the tube. Even Hunk had taken a few major steps back. Unfortunately, Lance wasn’t very observant. Had he been, he might not have been right there when the pod opened to catch the unsteady red paladin when he tumbled on out and right into his arms.

Keith was slow to come back to full consciousness, blinking his eyes open, only to shut them again at the harsh light. He groaned and buried his head against the soft warmth he could feel against his face. At least he hadn’t fallen onto the floor. “Co-” God, his throat felt like someone had scraped it with a thousand pieces of sandpaper. “Cold.” He finally rasped out, knees buckling.

Lance somehow managed to get his jacket off without letting him fall, swinging the fabric around to drape it over his shaking shoulders. “You warm up pretty fast once you’re out, trust me.”

Shivering, Keith curled his fingers into Lance’s shirt, finally able to crack one eye open and smile up at him. It took him a few moments before the feeling came back into his legs and he could stand on his own, letting go of Lance, but he staying as close to him as humanly possible, He reached up and wrapped the jacket more securely around himself, turning his head slightly and inhaling Lance’s scent. “Thanks,” he whispered, in desperate need of some water.

“Anytime, pretty boy,” he murmured. Except not anytime because he’d probably die of stress if Keith had to stay in one of the tubes again. A hand slid to his side, fingers spread over the area that had been wounded just to make absolutely sure that he was really healed and then Pidge ruined it.

“Kiss him, already!”

Keith paled considerably, unaware that they had an audience. He peered over Lance’s shoulder at the rest of the team, all with varying degrees of grins on their faces. “Oh god…” Why.

“Wait, who should kiss who exactly?” Hunk wondered.

“Does it really matter? One of them just needs to kiss the other. It’s not hard.”

Lance had honestly mostly forgotten about them, his focus all on Keith, so had to hide his blush in Keith’s mullet. “Hang on, no. Why would we-? That’s not even- what?”

“Do they still think that their relationship is a secret?” Allura wondered.

Coran blinked. “We were supposed to think it was a secret?”

They were dumb. Keith had been so sure they were being careful; even after his conversation with Pidge, he hadn’t announced to her that he’d actually gone and confessed to Lance. He’d hoped she would just drop it.

But of course that wasn’t Pidge’s style, her inquisitive mind always needing to know what was going on throughout the ship at all times. Then there was the kiss they shared before they had gotten back to the castle that was broadcast over their comms. Keith could have kicked himself for not realizing how obvious they were being.

“Damn it,” he muttered against Lance’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” Lance agreed, but shrugged. If they knew anyway, why not? He cupped Keith’s chin so their lips could hover near enough for him to feel Keith’s as he spoke. “I’m really glad you’re okay.” And then he sealed their lips together, ignoring Pidge’s “woo!”

Lance’s mouth was wet and warm where his own was still dry and cool, the contrasting sensations causing Keith to sigh. He slung an arm around Lance’s waist to pull him closer, still fighting to hold onto the jacket now dangling precariously off of his shoulders. Lance felt so good against him, solid and just _there_.

As Lance happily lapped his way into Keith’s mouth, he had to fight off a laugh at Hunk’s heavy sigh. “Okay, see, now they’re just showing off. Look what you started, Pidge.” Damn right he was showing off. He had every right to. This was his. By some miracle, Keith was his.

He drew back only when he needed air, amused to hear the conversation around them had shifted right back to ticks versus seconds in order to time how long they were going to stand there and just kiss. He pulled the jacket more securely around Keith, zipping it halfway. “You don’t look half-bad in my coat, pretty boy.” He cupped his cheek, thumb brushing his lower lip because he could. “Let’s go feed you so you can talk more like a human and less like a frog.”

Grateful that he didn’t have to hide it anymore, Keith smiled and slipped his hand down to grab a hold of Lance’s. They walked past their teammates, ignoring the catcalls and wolf-whistles; if he had the ability to speak without feeling like he wanted to rip his esophagus out, he would have told them to piss off. But alas…

He dragged Lance down the hallway, eager to get something into his stomach, even if it was the weird food goo he’d grown accustomed to while in the castle. He hadn’t thought about it too much before, fresh from the healing pod, but he was actually starving; and he was hoping that while everyone else was preoccupied elsewhere, he and Lance could enjoy a relaxing “meal” together in peace.

It was kind of a miracle that the nosy, tight-knit group let them dine alone. Lance knew he hadn’t been the only one worried about Keith, but was grateful nonetheless. “Oh, here,” he remembered when he caught him looking at the bracelet as they ate, much-needed water at Keith’s elbow. He reached into the jacket pocket and retrieved the second bracelet. “Shiro said these are from the kids back on whatever that planet’s called. I haven’t asked yet. I keep forgetting.”

Keith took the bracelet from Lance, admiring it before slipping it onto his wrist. “This is really cool. Was it the same kids that we helped get off that ship?”

“Apparently.” Lance shrugged. “I didn't really get a whole lot of details since it was, like, right before you were supposed to wake up.” He caught his hand, dropping his gaze to it as guilt rose again. “You’re seriously okay, right?”

“Yes, Lance,” he insisted. “I told you I would be, didn’t I?” He squeezed reassuringly, leaning forward to press a kiss to Lance’s temple.

“Yeah.” He may have told him, but it was a little hard to forget the feeling of Keith’s blood seeping between his fingers. Lance laced their fingers, their knees bumping beneath the table. “Apparently, I’m not that great at not worrying about you. I, uh, I’m sorry about dragging you into that.” He glanced up, smile sheepish and fleeting. “You wouldn’t have gotten hurt if I hadn’t made a big deal out of it.”

“It’s not your fault, though. Neither one of us saw that drone until it was too late; there was no way to tell that he was even there.” He knew that Lance thought it was all his fault, he just had to try to prove him wrong. “I’m the one that jumped in front of you without my shield.” Which, in hindsight, was stupid, but he wasn’t thinking rationally at the time. “Please don’t blame yourself.”

“I know that rationally. It’s just kind of... It was hard to think about it not being my fault when I was waiting for you to wake up.” Especially since he’d been largely left alone with his thoughts but for the occasional check-in by the other members of the team. No wonder they’d known about their thing. “I’m the one who started down the mountain, I’m the one who asked you to come, I’m the one who took them kidnapping kids personally.”

Keith bit his tongue to stop the angry comment he had ready. He didn’t want to start in on another argument, not when they were doing so well without dissolving into one. “Alright. I just want you to know that you didn’t make me do anything I wasn’t prepared for. I’d follow you, and the rest of the team, into any danger we come across.”

“I... I know.” Lance knew it was the most clichéd romantic thing to do, but he lifted their joined hands and pressed a kiss to the back of Keith’s anyway. He'd missed this voice of reason. “Next time, though, please use your shield. Allura’s starting to think that we need to do more team drills now.” His lips quirked. “Not that I don't totally own those drills or anything.”

“Yeah, _right_!” he argued, cheeks reddening at the romantic gesture. “The last team drill we had,” back before they had gotten their crap together and were still rivals in Lance’s eyes, “you _actually_ face-planted on the floor.” It may or may not have been Keith’s foot that had tripped Lance; nobody would get him to confess to that. Though it was worth the extra time they had to spend with those bonding apparatuses on their heads after the princess had, of course, seen what he did.

“Only because _someone_ tripped me.” Lance knocked their shoulders together, unwilling to let go of his hand to poke him. Everyone knowing about their relationship had opened up brand new flirting avenues and he wasn't going to waste them. “And you'd better not do it again.”

Damn. Was he really that obvious all the time? Keith thought he was the master at stealth, but apparently everybody saw him anyway. “Don't give me a reason to and I won't.” He hoped his tone came off as somewhat teasing so Lance knew he didn't really mean it; he wouldn't do it again even if the chance arose, although it had been funny at the time. “I didn't really think you knew it was me.”

“Pssh. Who else? You're always touching me unnecessarily.” Grinning, bouncing back to normal with Keith sounding like himself and definitely not bleeding, Lance inched his seat that much closer to him so their thighs pressed together. “Not that I mind when it's your hands.”

“Shut up.” He used their joined hands to his advantage and dragged Lance forward to drop a kiss on his lips.

Of course, that's when the rest of Team Voltron decided to invade the dining hall, loud and boisterous (thanks to Hunk). “Get a room!” Pidge shouted at them over the noise.

Lance ignored them, cupping the back of Keith’s neck before he could jerk away and finished the kiss. “This coming from the person who told us to kiss less than half an hour ago,” he pointed out with a wry grin.

She leveled him with a pointed glare. “That doesn’t mean I wanna see it whenever I walk into a room.”

Keith chuckled quietly against Lance’s lips before pulling back completely. “I have to agree with her,” he said to Lance. “We should keep the PDA to a minimum, at least when we’re all in the same room.”

“Aw, Keith,” he cooed, head tilting to the side and lips curving into a smile that tried very hard not to be a smirk. “I didn’t know you were shy.”

“I’m not shy, you ass.” He resisted the urge to smack Lance. “I just… It’s uncomfortable.”

“Sure is,” Pidge chirped, plopping into her seat next to Keith.

Hunk scoffed, shaking his head as he took his seat beside Lance. Even though most of the team had already had dinner, he still slid over the bowl of goo and plopped a ladleful onto the plate at his spot. “Maybe, but I’d rather this than the bickering.”

“Knowing these two, I wouldn’t count the bickering out just yet.” Shiro laid a hand on Keith’s shoulder, smile amused. “Or ever.”

Feigning innocence, he shrugged, Shiro’s hand lifting with the movement but still a solid weight. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Yeah, well.” Hunk swallowed before pointing his spoon Keith’s way. “The rest of us do. Just because it’s usually Lance’s fault-”

“Hey!”

“Sorry, but it’s true. It’s usually his fault, but you help.”

Allura folded her hands in her lap, smiling. “It’s their form of flirting. I think a more direct route would’ve gotten them here faster, but it’s nice to see that it finally did work.”

Keith choked around his spoonful of goo, Pidge thumping him on the back. “ _Princess_?” His voice was almost a squeak - almost.

“What?” Her smile turned playful, her tone overly sweet.

He glared at Lance out of the corner of his eye, silently blaming him for whatever the hell was happening. He was absolutely sure it was Lance’s fault somehow.

“Jokes aside,” Shiro cut in, “we’re glad you’re okay - both of you.”

Keith’s gaze softened still looking at Lance. “Me, too.”

Lance averted his gaze, his smile a little embarrassed, but he couldn’t keep his eyes off Keith’s for long. “Yeah.”

“Especially since Lance finally left the medbay,” Pidge teased just to see his expression dissolve into more embarrassment. “He was in there the whole time you were.”

“Not the whole time.”

“Five seconds in the doorway doesn’t count as ‘not the whole time.’”

He stuck his tongue out at her, unable to think of a comeback since she was right.

“You were there the whole time?” Keith’s heart stuttered with raw emotion, squeezing his hand around Lance’s again. “Please tell me you didn’t sleep on that floor…”

Lance averted his gaze again, scratching his cheek. “Uh...”

“Does having a pillow count as not sleeping on the floor?” Coran wondered.

Allura’s smile widened. “I don’t believe it does.”

Keith shook his head; he wanted to be mad, but it was hard to do so when Lance just admitted to staying with him the entire time he was out of it. “That was dumb of you. But… thank you.” And then, uncomfortableness be damned, he leaned over and kissed Lance again.

“Ugh,” Pidge said behind him, but Keith ignored it.

Lance hummed into the contact, his own embarrassment fading. He hadn’t exactly slept well, pillow propped against the console so he could recline and keep his eyes on Keith. He’d thought about going to sleep like everyone else, but the idea of going to his room and trying to sleep in an empty bed had been incredibly unappealing. He’d gotten far too used to having Keith with him, limbs and sheets tangled together in an intimacy that somehow went beyond what they did before sleep.

When the kiss broke, he rubbed their noses together. He had it capital B, _Bad_. And he was okay with it. “I’m just used to you being around.”

Keith nodded his agreement, knocking their foreheads together softly.

“Alright!” Hunk rose from his seat quickly. “If they’re gonna start being gross, I’m gonna go.”

Pidge copied his movements. “Right behind you. ‘Night, everyone.”

A chorus of “goodnight”s followed the two paladins out of the room. Keith wanted to go, too, not quite tired, but drained and in need of some time spent in an actual bed; he wanted to wrap himself up in the sheets with Lance and just hold on.

“I’m ready to go, too,” he told the table, though focused on Lance.

Lance was quick to rise, stretching to work out the kinks a night on the floor had worked into his back. “Yep. Same. Sounds good.”

Shiro shook his head. “The two of you are not subtle.”

Lance beamed. “I don’t have to be. I’ve got a cute boyfriend, and you all know it. Come on, Keith.”

Questioning his sanity, Keith got up after Lance and grabbed his hand again, starting to walk out.

Shiro’s voice rang out behind them just as they made it to the door, “Use protection!”

Keith nearly tripped as he sped up, hearing Allura and Coran laughing. “Oh my god.”

Snickering, Lance swung his arm around Keith’s waist and pressed a kiss to his temple. “You’re totally shy.”

“Shut up, or you’re sleeping on the floor again tonight,” he threatened half-heartedly.

“Only if you’re on top of me.”

“Convenient, ‘cause that’s what we’re doing as soon as we get back to your room.”

Oh. Lance grinned, tugging Keith down the corridor. “I was kind of hoping you’d say that. But are you sure you should exert yourself?” His sidelong glance was all wicked.

Keith could play this game, too, returning Lance’s gaze with a lewd grin. “I won’t have to if you’re the one doing all the work this time.”

“Okay, see, that’s just what I was thinking.” Lance whirled him, the motion only smooth because Keith wasn’t expecting to get pinned to the wall in the hallway. Hands cupping his waist beneath the jacket, Lance nuzzled up to his ear and nipped the lobe. “ _Quiero hacerte el amor_. _Eres perfecto_ ,” he purred.

Groaning, Keith dropped his head onto Lance’s shoulder. “Yes. Whatever the hell it is you’re saying to me, _yes_.” He wrapped his arms around Lance in a fierce hug.

“ _Te haré sentir bien_ ,” he promised. “Come on, pretty boy.”

Keith dragged himself away from the wall to follow Lance, finally making it to his room a few ticks later. As soon as the door had slid shut, he pulled Lance over to the bed and fell into it. Lance landed on his lap, and as soon as they stopped bouncing, he reached up and gripped the back of his neck, leaning up to meet his lips in a passionate kiss.

Lance moaned into it, letting his relief pour into the contact. He’d spent a day and a half in a healing pod just because he’d pushed Lance out of the way. A day and a half for Lance to do nothing but contemplate and worry. If not for the other members of the team popping in now and then to fill snatches of time, he probably would’ve gone crazy. It was terrifying to realize that he needed Keith. Not just as the red paladin, a piece of Voltron, but as a piece of himself. He wouldn’t say his better half because, well, Lance was confident enough to think that he could stand pretty great on his own. But Keith was a piece. A very important, very heart-related piece.

“ _Te haré sentir bien_ ,” he repeated, shifting to his knees to straddle him and busy his hands with buttons and zippers. “I’m going to make you feel good, Keith. _Tan bien._ You’ll feel my hands on you for days.”

“Oh god, Lance, yes. _Please_.” Keith gasped, bucking his hips up. He wanted Lance all over him, all of the time, everywhere. And he couldn’t help the way his heart leapt when Lance smoothed down his chest over his shirt.

He sat back with a smile, pulling his own shirt up and off. “Will you do me a really big favor?”

“Depends on what the favor is.”

“Wow. You say that like you don’t trust me.” His smile widened to a grin at Keith’s bland stare. His hips wiggled, undone jeans slipping down. “I want you to keep my jacket on while I ride you.”

“ _Christ, Lance_!” His hands shot to Lance’s hips to shove his jeans further down and then dipped in to stroke him through his boxers. “Y-yeah, anything you want, _god_.”

His head fell forward, eyes closing and hips rocking into the touch. “ _Ay, soy tuyo_. Fuck.” But he wriggled downwards, out of reach so he could push up Keith’s shirt. He pressed a wet kiss just above his navel, fingers hooking in his belt loops to yank his pants down. “I love the way your skin tastes.” And the way his muscles quivered under his tongue, like Lance could actually make him weak. He lifted his gaze, fingers kneading Keith’s thighs. “ _Eres más bonito que las estrellas en el cielo_.”

“Are you ever gonna tell me what any of that means?” Keith asked, legs trembling under Lance’s touch. He wished he could stay here forever, with Lance littering kisses over his body and limbs tangled together.

“Mm...” He could. It was embarrassing, but he could. Lance’s hands slid up, finding Keith’s and lacing them together. He shimmied up, pressing their joined hands against the pillow. “‘You’re more beautiful than the stars in the sky.’ _Dame un beso_.” Their noses brushed. “‘Kiss me.’”

“Oh, Lance…” Keith all but smushed their mouths together, lips trapped between teeth and their noses now pressed awkwardly against each other. “You’re such a sap,” he breathed when they separated.

It wasn’t like “ _cojeme duro_ ” had a place there at the moment, so he shrugged. “Maybe, but you like it.” He kissed him again, deceptively chaste with the way he ground his hips down. He let go of one hand to grab the lube bottle and shimmied right back down. He smiled at the way Keith’s legs shifted, parting to give him room to settle between them, and lowered his lips to his abdomen again. He nibbled a lazy path to his side, paying special attention to the spot that had been wounded all-too recently.

“ _Me vuelves loco_ ,” he murmured against his skin, hands curling into the fabric of his boxers to drag them down. “‘You drive me crazy.’”

Keith buried his hands into Lance’s hair, skin tingling and overcome with emotion as he lifted his hips. “You drive me just as crazy, Lance. Sometimes I still can’t believe you’re real and here and _mine_.”

Lance pressed a kiss to his thigh, pushing Keith’s clothes off the bed. The rest of his own were quick to follow so he could focus his attention where he wanted it. “Oh, I’m pretty real.” And he was absolutely Keith’s, though that wasn’t quite something he could admit in English just yet. Spanish? Sure. “ _Soy tuyo, chico lindo_ ,” he admitted, long fingers wrapping around the base of Keith’s length. “Let me show you how real and here I am.”

Hips bucking off the bed, Keith groaned, hands dropping back to the mattress. He turned his face into Lance’s jacket and breathed in deeply, the faint scent of Lance’s sweat and skin invading his senses. “Please, Lance.” He was begging now and yet he didn’t care, just wanted Lance to get on with it.

Lance’s lips curved before they parted, tongue gliding along the tip of his dick. He probably wasn’t the best giver of head in the galaxy, but it had only been a week and it wasn’t as if Keith had anything to compare Lance’s eager mouth to. And it was eager, Lance very interested in finding out every single way to get Keith to moan his name. Plus, he just found himself enjoying it. He liked the weight on his tongue, loved looking up to see the flush bleeding from Keith’s cheeks to his chest. He loved the sounds he made and didn’t even mind that his own were muffled and actual words were impossible.

He suckled the head lazily, tongue swirling pre in little circles. His fingers kneaded the sensitive flesh of his shaft, thumb caressing circles along the main vein, and the other hand held his hips down to avoid another near-gag incident when he’d maybe gotten a little too cocky in his abilities their second time at this.

One of Keith’s hands found its way back into Lance’s hair, tugging gently. He loved the way Lance’s mouth felt around him, especially since he was already so talented with his tongue. “So good, babe,” he muttered, watching as Lance took a little bit more in.

He bobbed his head carefully, easing his way down just a little more each time until he was able to swallow Keith halfway. Eventually, damn it, he was going to get all the way down there. He ignored the little burn in his jaw, tongue laving over his cock like a popsicle, and hummed to send a vibration through him. Lance’s gaze lifted, hand sliding down to caress his thigh and keep his legs from closing around his head.

“You look so good down there, Lance, so _right_.” He petted Lance’s hair, moaning, and spread his legs a bit farther apart.

The praise had him moaning around him, Lance lifting his head. His tongue rubbed against the tip before gliding down the side so he could press warm, wet kisses up the side of his length. “ _Me encanta mamar_ ,” he breathed, easily the most shameless thing he’d said to him so far but it was very true. He didn’t know why he enjoyed it as much as he did, but he sank back onto Keith’s dick with a greedy little noise.

Keith was losing his mind, and it was being sucked right out through his dick and into Lance’s mouth. The sounds the other paladin was making were enough to have himself questioning why he had ever disliked him in the first place. “Lance.” He loved saying his name, loved how it tasted on his tongue, but mostly he loved the reaction it garnered. “ _Lance_.”

He whimpered, shifting to try and give himself some relief, but he was so achingly hard and he hadn’t even actually been touched yet. He lifted his head to catch his breath, tongue still bathing the head of Keith’s cock in warm swipes as he reached for the lube. “ _Metémela. Quiero que me cojas_ ,” he panted, forgetting for a moment that Keith didn’t actually understand what he was saying. “I want you.”

“Yeah, come on. Wanna see you sitting on my dick, Lance, you're gonna look so gorgeous on top of me.” Half of him wanted to grab the lube from Lance, but the other half, the one that was winning, wanted to see Lance finger himself open. “Are you gonna stretch yourself for me?”

Lance smirked, somehow looking cocky with his suck-swollen lips still a breath away from Keith’s dick. “We’re trying not to wear you out, remember?” He poured lube onto his hand and reached back, not nearly patient enough with himself to warm it between his fingers. As the first digit slipped in, meeting little resistance, the smirk faded. His lips parted on a blissful sound, eyes fluttering shut. “Fuck, Keith...”

Damn, but Lance was the hottest person Keith had ever seen, especially with his long eyelashes fanned out across the tops of his cheekbones and the little ‘o’ shape of his mouth. “I wish you could see yourself right now,” Keith murmured, lifting a hand to cup Lance's cheek. “You're the most beautiful person in the universe, Lance.”

Blue eyes opened, Lance seeking Keith’s gaze as if seeking a lie amongst the sweet sounding words. He tipped his head into the touch even as he pushed a second finger inside of himself. He scissored them to stretch himself open, eager to have something more substantial inside. “I-” Oh, no. He swallowed the English version, wary of the heavy admission while he was pushing back against his own hand to prepare himself. “ _Me estoy enamorando de ti._ ” Thank god he didn’t understand a word of Spanish. Lance pressed a kiss to Keith’s palm, groaning at the pull of a third finger. It was a delicious, promising sort of burn and he let sensation overrule heavier emotions for the time being. He just wanted to bounce on his dick. The rest could come later.

Even though Keith had no idea what Lance’s words meant, whispered against his skin like that he just knew they were romantic and sappy as hell. He didn't even care, Lance could be as romantic and sappy with him all he wanted. He kind of secretly craved the attention.

His hand trailed from Lance’s face to the top of his shoulder and squeezed. “You almost ready?” God, he really hoped Lance was ready, but he couldn't see past him to tell how many fingers he had gotten in.

“Mr. Impatient up here, geez.” Lance’s hips jerked when he brushed against his prostate, a keening sound slipping out. “Okay, yeah, I'm- I'm ready.” Keith’s cock was given a last lick because he couldn’t help himself, enjoying the little hiss through Keith’s teeth at the attention. The lube was picked up again when Lance sat back, fingers falling away so they could slick Keith up instead.

“You look so fucking incredible, Keith.” His eyes pretty, dark with want, Lance's jacket clinging to his shoulders, and his black t-shirt rucked up at an odd angle by Lance’s busy hands. Lance crawled up, straddling his waist. “You ready, pretty boy?”

“ _Fuck_ , yes, Lance.” Keith held onto Lance’s hips and helped guide him, turned on beyond all belief.

Lance kept his fingers around the base of Keith’s length to keep it steady as he lowered himself down. The first breach had him groaning, free hand falling to Keith’s chest to curl into his shirt. Thighs trembling, he sank down slowly enough for them both to feel every inch of the wet slide. “ _Ay, qué rico_. You feel so good, Keith.”

When he was fully seated, he rocked carefully just to get used to the full feeling at this angle. It was absolutely different from when he was on his back, Keith hitting places he didn’t normally hit without some adjusting. “Fuck.”

Keith hummed in agreement, hands settling on top of Lance’s legs; he could feel the muscles straining under his fingertips when Lance lifted up and then relax as he came back down. The tightness around his cock was intoxicating and the only thing he could think of was how he’d never get tired of feeling Lance completely surrounding him. “Lance, holy shit.”

“Yeah. Yeah, that- Oh my god.” Lance leaned forward, bracing a hand against Keith’s chest to give himself leverage as his hips began to move in earnest. The other fell to his dick. He just looked so _good_ beneath him, still wearing Lance’s jacket as requested. “Fuck, Keith. Just- jesus.”

“You look amazing, Lance.” He shifted his lower half, bending his legs and pressing up to meet Lance’s thrusts down. The new angle was incredible. Keith was almost overwhelmed with how deep his dick was able to get. “ _Ungh_ , it feels so good.” He covered the hand that was on Lance’s cock with his own, speeding up his slow strokes.

Lance’s grip tightened on his shirt, lips parting to release a stream of Spanish. His grasp of language vanished with his mind, his movements desperate and tuned to Keith’s by instinct rather than planning. “ _Me encanta_. So good. _Cojeme-_ hnng! _Cojeme duro_ , Keith. Just like that.” Pleasure buzzed in his mind, taking it over and sending sparks down his spine to tingle right into his fingertips. He lowered his head to rub their lips together in a messy kiss, his keening sounds lost in it.

Keith swallowed his noises, making some of his own in the back of his throat. “Lance, I’m not- _fuck_ \- not gonna make it.” The hand not on Lance’s dick slid up his thigh and around to cup and spread his ass open.

“Yeah, that-” Lance couldn’t catch his breath, couldn’t keep his hips from moving. Keith’s hands were heaven. Sinful, amazing heaven. “Yeah. I’m- With me. _Ven conmigo_.”

Rhythm abandoned, Keith bucked his hips up wildly, ignoring the “don’t exert yourself” rule they’d set up beforehand. He could feel his own cock brushing over his fingertips as he drove into Lance, who had halted his movement altogether. “Lance, I- _Oh god_.” Thrusting up once more he let go, his release spurting inside of Lance. He panted against his lips as their hands moved faster on Lance’s cock.

Lance came with him, crying out as his release spilled over their hands. “Keith! _Eres- eres bonito_ ,” he groaned, sinking down as the high passed. He pressed his face into the curve of his neck, nibbling lightly. “Fuck, Keith.”

Keith lifted their hands, brought it to his mouth and licked Lance’s come off of their fingers. He loved the way Lance tasted, and as soon as he’d lapped it all up, he dragged his tongue along Lance’s collarbone.

“Fuck.” Lance pressed their lips together, moaning at the taste of himself on Keith’s tongue. “ _Estás rico_ ,” he breathed. “ _Eres mío_.”

“Hmm… You know, I’ve decided,” he muttered, trailing his fingers up Lance’s back, “that it doesn’t matter if you don’t tell me what you’re saying. As long as you keep speaking.” He shifted his legs, pressing his thighs against Lance’s backside and wiggling his hips; his softening cock, still inside of Lance, twitched.

“ _Te gusta_?” He hummed, shifting atop him in response. There were a million things he could think of to say, most of them embarrassingly sweet because Lance was a flirt first always, but there were a few that were just dirty. “ _Quiero hacerte el amor toda la noche_.”

“Yes.” He could tell it wasn’t a question, but whatever it was, he knew that it was cheesy as hell, possibly filthy. But he wanted it, whatever Lance was willing to give. “ _Yes_.”

Lance pressed kisses down Keith’s neck. “ _Hagámoslo_. _Eres fabuloso en la cama_.”

“Please, Lance.”

“ _Nadie me lo da como tú_.” Not in a million years would he have thought that he could use freaking Spanish to seduce someone. His hands slid to Keith’s shoulders so he could push himself up and look down at him. “ _Tu boca es una dulce tentación_.” He let one hand lift to his hair, stroking through the dark strands. He hadn’t thought in a trillion years that the person could be Keith. “ _Un beso tuyo me llevaría al cielo_.”

Keith caught Lance’s hand in his, lacing their fingers together tightly, brushed his lips over Lance’s knuckles tenderly. He pressed his other hand into the small of Lance’s back, grinding up into him again.

“Keith!” He wasn’t sure if the gasp was pleasure or surprise, probably a combination of both as he pushed down. It was such a strange combination of romantic and just stupidly hot. “ _Tus- Tus ojos son como una llama, de solo verlos siento su tibieza_.”

“Lance. Lance, I need-” Groaning, he planted one foot into the mattress, using the other one to flip them over; he slipped out of Lance with the movement, not missing the soft gasp that fell from his lips. His shirt slid back down to cover his abdomen, but the jacket was still open and draped over his sides.

“ _Te-_ ” Wait, fuck. “I want your shirt off, but keep the jacket. You’re fucking beautiful, Keith.”

He smirked, sitting up and shimmying the jacket off, then reached behind him and pulled his shirt off over his head with one hand. Not wanting to disappoint, he threw the article to the foot of the bed and pulled the jacket back on. The fabric was worn and soft on his skin, smelling so much like Lance that he couldn’t help but take a deep breath in, biting the sleeve between his teeth. “It smells like you,” he murmured, leaning in to kiss Lance. “It smells so good, Lance. _You_ smell so good. God, I-”

Lance cut him off with a firm kiss, fingers tangling in the hair at the nap of his neck. There was so much of it to grip, thick and luscious and perfectly suited to him. “It looks good on you, pretty boy. But that’s seriously not a surprise. _Tienes tantas cosas bonitas que no se en cual enfocar mi atención_.”

Keith growled, the sound surprising himself, but he grabbed a pillow from under Lance’s head and shoved it under him, dragging him down so it rested right where his back met his ass. Spreading Lance’s legs, he took two of his fingers and slipped them inside Lance’s hole, the mixture of lube and his come coating his digits. “If you didn’t have all of that nasty lube inside of you, I would have loved to clean you up with my tongue.” He nipped the inside of Lance’s thigh before soothing it over with a tender kiss.

Lance whimpered, writhing. “Fuck, Keith. That’s- oh my god. _Lámbame allí_. _Lámbame mi cuerpo entero._ ” He wanted to feel his tongue anywhere and everywhere.

“Shh… I’ll take care of you, Lance. Always.” Forever, a thought that simultaneously scared and thrilled Keith. He trailed kisses up and down both of his thighs, getting closer and closer to Lance’s entrance. A faint squelching sound became audible as his fingers pumped in and out almost of their own volition, and he finally got close enough to circle his tongue around them.

“¡ _Joder_!” he gasped, back arching. Holy crow - holy shit, this was hot. Lance hadn’t expected to find Keith between his legs, definitely not with his tongue _there_. A hand stole into his hair, tangling in the strands and carefully scratching to encourage him. “You’re incredible. _Quiero que cómeme_.”

Deciding _fuck it_ , he could always brush his teeth later, Keith removed his fingers and grabbed Lance’s hips. Hauling him up, Keith slid his knees under him, settling him at an angle with his legs draped over Keith’s shoulders. He used his thumbs to spread Lance’s cheeks and pressed a kiss against him before spearing his tongue inside.

Lance cried out, head pressing back against the pillow. His hand gripped his mullet tightly, the other curling and uncurling helplessly in the mussed sheets. His rim was overly sensitive from being stretched by his own fingers, Keith’s dick, and now- “Hnn- Keith, it's so good. _Tan bien, chico lindo._ ” Now his tongue was brilliant torture. “ _Ay, qué rico. Ay_ \- Keith, don't stop. Don't ever stop.”

He pulled back, lube and spit and come covering his chin, and grinned at Lance. “Wasn’t planning on it.” The lube wasn’t half as disgusting as he thought it would be, his own come and Lance’s taste overpowering it. He rubbed his thumbs against Lance’s skin, laying biting kisses down around his hole. Then flattening his tongue, he licked over it, dipping the tip inside. “Lance, you taste so delicious, wanna do this forever.”

That was illegal. It had to be illegal. A universal law across the galaxies - no being that hot. Keith not only broke the law, he'd shattered it and turned it to dust with one of his fucking _smirks_ because he was just. That. Attractive. And his tongue! Lance whined and whimpered utter gibberish, heels digging into Keith’s back in his attempt to press somehow closer to those nippy teeth and that wet tongue. “ _Soy tuyo, soy tuyo, soy tuyo. Ay, chico lindo. V-voy a venir-!_ ” From his mouth alone, untouched cock throbbing and dripping wetly onto his belly. “Keith!”

Keith opened his mouth and covered Lance’s entrance, hummed into his skin, and slid his tongue back in, suckling at the fluids still making him so, _so_ wet. He let one of his thumbs sink inside, massaging Lance’s inner wall. His other hand left Lance’s ass and wrapped around his front, fingers curling over his dick.

And Lance was gone. He came hard, seeing stars as his back arched and his release spilled fresh over his belly. “ _Te amo_!” he wailed, too far overboard to stop himself. “Keith!”

Keith’s entire body froze. He knew that phrase. To hear it falling so easily from Lance’s lips, though, caught him off guard. Did he really mean it? Or was it just the sex? God, he hoped Lance really meant it, but he quickly brushed it off before Lance could realize he had stopped moving, pretending he still didn’t have any idea what he was saying.

He pulled back, slowly lowering a trembling Lance back down onto the bed and covering his body with his own. Lance’s jacket was dragging through the come on his stomach, but Keith couldn’t care less about getting it dirty. It would just smell even more like him, and so it was decided, he was never taking it off. Lance was never getting it back from him. He kissed him thoroughly, ignoring the fact that he’d just has his tongue in his ass, and rocked his erection into Lance’s thigh.

“Keith.” It didn’t sound much like his name, as lost in the kiss as Lance was. It should’ve been disgusting, but he didn’t care. “Fuck-” He had to break it, though his lips didn’t stray far. “Fuck me. Just- I want it, Keith. I want you.” God knew he wasn’t going to be able to get it up again, but the idea of his sensitive hole being used solely for Keith’s pleasure set a fire to his veins that sure as hell tried to rekindle that muscle. “You’re so beautiful, Keith, please.”

“Y-yeah, okay.” He was becoming choked up with emotion despite having told himself Lance didn’t really mean his earlier proclamation. He didn’t try to speak again, just guided his cock into Lance’s opening, so open and almost disgustingly wet. It didn’t take him too long to come again; a couple of thrusts and Lance squeezing around him from being so oversensitive was all it took.

He pulled out immediately this time, not wanting Lance to be too uncomfortable, but he couldn’t help brushing a finger across his entrance, collecting his come which was now dripping out and wiping it on the jacket. “Are you alright?” he asked, caressing Lance’s legs.

“Mmhm.” He’d tick the “Blissed Out” box before he would “Alright,” but it would do. Blissful, pliant, and ready to sleep for a year. “Did you just wipe _jizz_ on my jacket?”

Keith turned his gaze away, a blush rising to his cheeks. “Um… Maybe?”

Lance groaned. “You have _got_ to stop being so fucking hot. I’m gonna die at eighteen and cause of death is gonna be, like,” he lifted his hands as if showing off a headline, “‘burned alive by boyfriend’s stupid hotness.’ Is that what you want, Keith? ‘Cause that’s what’s gonna happen.”

“I’d never let you catch fire, Lance,” he snarked back.

“Pretty promises from a pretty face.” Lance shifted on the pillow, wincing a little and wondering how exactly sitting down was going to feel the next day. But he let his gaze roam freely over Keith’s body, smug smile spreading. Temporary discomfort would be totally worth it for this, even though there were several jizz stains on his jacket now that he was looking. Son of a bitch.

Noticing Lance’s flinching, Keith wrapped gentle arms around him, repositioning them so that they were lying side by side, facing each other. He propped his head up with an elbow on the pillow and lazily trailed his fingers down Lance’s arm until he could weave their fingers together again.

Lance glanced at their hands, lips curving before they brushed over Keith’s. He did have a pretty face, and a stunning mouth. Stunningly filthy. He was pretty sure he’d never actually come quite that hard before, and he’d definitely never...

 _Oh, shit!_ His smile froze, but only before a moment before weaving into a smirk. “I don’t know why you’re just laying here all satisfied and smug like I’m just going to let you sleep. I’m literally leaking _your_ jizz and I’m not sleeping in that wet patch. And I’m so not walking to the bathroom because there’ll be a freaking come trail on the floor and I’m, like, ninety-nine percent sure that my knees’ll give out because of your tongue.” He poked his chest with his free hand. “So you should go get me a wet cloth or something.” And give him a minute to have a meltdown because he’d freaking told Keith that he _loved him_.

Keith seriously contemplated just wiping him up with the sleeve of the jacket, but ultimately decided against it; that would have been too much. So he got out of bed, dropped a kiss against Lance’s temple, and said, “I’ll be right back, then.”

“Good. And then you can lay here all satisfied and smug because, cripes, Keith. You’re mouth is just... Ten out of ten, buddy, would fuck again.”

“Oh my god, shut up.” Keith laughed and finally left into the bathroom.

Lance immediately rolled onto his back, pressing the heels of his palms against his eyes and biting back a groan. Holy crow, he’d actually said it. It was bad enough that they’d started the whole mess with Lance admitting to falling in love with him. But what had happened? He’d hit rock bottom. Crash landed like the end of a garrison simulator. Other metaphors about falling painfully because _he was totally in love with that mullet-haired jerk_. It had only been a week!

Okay, a week of actually sharing a bed. Definitely more than a week of pining, more than a week of thinking about sharing a bed, way more than a week of seeing Keith and feeling that twist in his heart. There was a reason why he could identify Keith from a distance, why he’d stamped “Rival” on their interactions and not “Please-Kiss-Me.” And this was the reason. He was stupid and- and _easy_. It was so easy to fall for that stupid jerk who touched him so rightly that his heart had opened its doors and thrown down the welcome mat. And he’d just had to open his mouth and tell him, and now...

Huh.

Lance’s hands fell away from his eyes, folding over his chest before he jerked them back up because there was come literally everywhere on both of them. He’d said it and Keith hadn’t done anything that suggested he knew. Did he somehow not know it? Was he _that_ Spanish ignorant? Relief surged through him at that, Lance rolling back onto his side with a smile, head tipped towards the bathroom door so he could watch it open. So Keith didn’t know he loved him yet. Perfect. He’d just have to figure out a way to get Keith to love him back before he said in English. Flawless plan.

Keith finally reentered the room with a warm wet cloth in hand, but not before having a mini panic attack in the bathroom. _Lance had said “I love you” to him_. And then literally said nothing about it. Then again, neither did Keith. But he wouldn’t deny that, somehow, he had happened to fall for the annoying paladin. It was scary just how hard he had.

He made his way back to the bed, breath sucked out of him at the sight of Lance, a nice rosy flush covering his entire body, hair wild across the pillow, skin glowing with drying sweat. God, he was fucking gorgeous. “Hey,” he said softly, laying a hand gingerly on Lance’s shoulder, “I’m gonna get you cleaned up. Just tell me if it gets too uncomfortable, okay?”

“Yeah.” Lance jumped a little at the initial contact, but waved Keith’s concerned look away. He didn’t actually hurt, and the tautness that had formed during his freakout was soothed by gentle, thorough hands. By the time Keith was finished, he was ready to just fall asleep. Body pliant and warm, he didn’t argue when his lover climbed back into bed with him. “You’re still wearing the jacket,” he mumbled, eyes half-open and lips curved.

“It’s comfy and soft. And, like I said, it smells like you.” And he did promise himself he was never taking it off; Lance would have to pry it out of his cold, dead hands if he wanted it back now.

“Smells like jizz, maybe.” But Lance used it to tug him closer, a leg slipping between Keith’s as he snuggled close and let their brows rest together. “But you look really good in it, so it’s hard to complain. Not impossible, obviously, but harder.”

“Mm, like you’d be able to keep your mouth shut for two seconds, anyway.” He chuckled at Lance’s glare, moving in to kiss him. “It’s okay, though, because, for some reason, I like the sound of your voice. So, complain away.”

“Pssh. You like the sound of my voice when it’s speaking Spanish. _Chico lindo._ ” He snickered sleepily. “ _Si el agua fuera belleza tú serías el mar entero._ ”

Keith blushed, pressing his lips messily against Lance’s again. “That, too.”

He wanted to tell him that he loved him again, the words on the tip of his tongue, but he nuzzled into the curve of Keith’s neck and pressed a warm kiss to his skin. “It’d be funny if I was just insulting you the whole time and getting kissed for it. Kinda mad I didn’t think of that sooner.”

“What, you mean you haven’t been insulting me?” Keith’s voice was dripping with sarcasm. “Who are you and what have you done with Lance?”

Lance nipped him. “ _Tu culo es un maravillo_.”

“Hmm…” Keith yawned, but then blinked back at Lance. “Wait… Wait a second, you _are_ insulting me. I actually do know what _culo_ is, Lance.” He pulled away, crossing his arms over his chest awkwardly, still laying on his side. “What the hell?”

He knew _culo_ but not _te amo_. _Culo!_ But not _te amo_! What the hell, indeed. “Oh my god. I said your ass is out of this world! What are they even teaching in schools these days, jesus.”

“Oh.” Well, now he felt like an idiot. He rolled over onto his back, wrapped an arm around Lance’s waist and pulled him into his side. “I guess I can let that one slide, then.”

Lance scoffed, hooking an arm around his waist, using his shoulder as a pillow. “ _El burro sabe mas que tu_.”

“I’m not dumber than a donkey, Lance, fuck you.” He was too tired to put any real bite into the words, but he did lightly slap him on the arm.

“But you somehow know all the insults and none of the compliments. _Tsk_.” Seriously, what the fuck? How did he know that and not _te amo_? “Sounds like jackass to me,” he teased, snuggling that much closer.

“...Shut up and go to sleep, Lance.” Keith tightened his hold on Lance and pressed a kiss into his hair. “You can insult me more in the morning.”

“Mm...” Lance lifted a hand, letting it curl loosely above Keith’s heart. He was too tired not to wish he could have it the way Keith had his. And he didn’t even freaking know it. “Nah. I’ll just tell you... um.” He was so tired, mumbling even as he drifted off. “Your pretty eyes.”

Keith blushed, though Lance was unable to see it. “Yeah, Lance. Okay.” He covered Lance’s hand with his own and fell asleep shortly after Lance’s breaths had evened out.

\----

It wasn’t alarms that awoke Lance the next morning, but motion. _Moving_ motion that left him chilled and muttering about losing his personal space heater. Having to chuckle over his own pun woke him up the rest of the way. He still didn’t want to move, so stretched lazily before curling right back into a ball and blinking sleepily at Keith’s back.

He had to smile, studying his mussed mullet and adoring the fact that Keith was still wearing his jacket. “What’re you doing? It’s early.”

Keith turned around, halfway out the door. “Shit, I didn’t mean to wake you up. I just need to go brush my teeth. Ya know,” he coughed, “I kinda had my tongue in your ass last night; doesn’t taste so good the next morning.”

“Mmhm. I was hoping to make a ‘your breath smells like ass’ joke, but you’ve ruined it.” And, oh god, did he look nice in just his jacket and boxers. They hadn’t even stopped back at Keith’s room for his usual change of clothes. He looked so cute and morning after that Lance had to blurt, “Just bring the toothbrush back and leave it in my bathroom.”

“I- what?”

The dregs of sleep vanished in an instant, Lance’s eyes springing wide. Oh. “Uh... I mean, you don’t have to. Like... Obviously. I just mean you’ve been sleeping in here, so... you can. Leave your toothbrush in this bathroom. If you want.” Fuck it. “And maybe your armor.”

“Are you- are you asking me to move in?” Essentially that’s what it sounded like. Secretly, he was thrilled, hoping that that’s what Lance meant.

“Uh...” He sat up, blankets pooling at his waist as he gazed at Keith. “Yeah. Kind of. I mean-” He blew out a breath, rubbing the back of his neck uncertainly. “I- I want you to.”

“Lance...” Keith sighed, walking back to the bed and cupping Lance’s cheek in his hand. “I would kiss you right now, but, well… yeah.” Instead, he gathered Lance into a hug, crushing him tight against his body, breath hot against his ear as he whispered, “Of course I’ll move in with you.”

Lance reached up, fingers grasping the jacket fabric. Holy crow. “Go get your dumb toothbrush so I can kiss you, ass-breath.”

Keith smirked into Lance’s disheveled hair before pulling back and walking over to the door again. “Be right back.” And then he was gone.

Lance threw his hands skyward in victory before flopping back onto his pillow to doze while he waited. And, of course, to process the situation. Keith was actually moving in with him. A week of sleeping together and they were moving in. They were on the same page about an honestly huge sort of step. He smiled. They really were a good team.

Keith was quick to grab his stuff from his room, rounding up his armor, toothbrush, and his favorite tube of cinnamon toothpaste; he would come back for the rest of it later. Glad that it was so early, he rushed back to Lance's room, having not run into anyone. He never would have lived it down if he were caught in the halls with just his boxers and Lance's damn jacket on. Covered in jizz stains no less.

When he stepped inside, his heart leapt into his throat. Lance had fallen back asleep since he'd been away, mouth parted slightly on a quiet snore, the sheets still exposing his bare chest and tangled around his legs. He looked so peaceful, so beautiful, and yeah, Keith was in trouble. Absolutely, _hilariously_ fucked.

He set his armor down quietly next to Lance’s and then moved into the bathroom, brushing a hand through Lance's hair gently as he passed, shutting the door as silently as possible.

Lance’s eyes squinted open anyway, the paladin actually trying to stay semi-alert. A quick scan showed nothing too amiss right away, so he started to settle back when his eyes sprang open. Oh! Yeah! That was- that was definitely red armor on his chair. Holy crow! Grinning, Lance rolled out of bed and stretched. He didn’t even spare his boxers a glance, planning to shower and maybe pull Keith in with him.

He slid the door open after a quick knock had Keith grunting permission to enter. A hand lifted to cover his yawn as he took his gaze in a leisurely path down Keith’s back. The jacket wasn’t too much longer on him, though his boxers were only able to be hinted at until he leaned down to spit into the sink. The cinnamon scent wasn’t that surprising, used to smelling it on Keith’s breath by this point.

Lance was admittedly used to a lot of Keith at this point. His vacillations between needing solitude and inserting himself into the middle of the group, the way he could go off half-cocked but still stood as a voice of reason. Weird quirky humor, but too serious for his own good. How could he _not_ love the guy? He waited until he set the toothbrush aside to wrap his arms around him from behind and drag him back. “ _Te amo, chico lindo_ ,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

Keith froze again, this time unable to keep Lance from noticing the reaction he had to those words. He looked up and locked eyes with him in the mirror. “L-Lance, did you-?”

Lance tightened his grip. “Um. What do you think I just did?”

“You just-” _said I love you_ , like it was the easiest thing in the world. Keith hadn't dared to hope he would hear it again so soon, outside of the comfort of the bed. “You just said-” But he couldn’t finish his sentence, too choked up with raw emotion to find the words.

Lance cupped his hips to turn him around, searching his gaze without the mirror. “You- Do you know what that means? The first half, not the second half. The second half is just pretty boy. But do you know what it means?”

“Yeah. Yeah, of _course_ I do, Lance. I just, I didn't think you meant it last night…” What with the intense orgasm he’d had. “I just figured it slipped out in the moment.”

“Well, _duh_ , it slipped out! I wasn’t planning on telling you in the middle of sex, Keith!” Lance lifted his hands, eyes wide. Oh, shit, he _knew_! He knew! “But then you didn’t say anything, so I didn’t think you actually understood. Oh my god, I’m- You’re not supposed to tell a guy that you’re in love with him in a way that he actually understands in the middle of sex. Not the first time, oh my god.”

Keith took hold of Lance’s hands and held them by his sides. “Lance, it’s _o_ kay,” he insisted. “ _Te amo_ , too.”

“It’s-” His lips twitched, Lance trying his best not to grin and ended up failing quickly. “Okay, so, first of all, it’s _también_. _Te amo también_.” He kissed him fondly, vastly amused. “Stick with English, pretty boy. It’s safer.”

“Alright.” He kissed Lance again. “I love you.”

“I-” Oh. Lance blinked. It wasn’t safer. Hearing him fumble over Spanish was far different from hearing him confident in English. Lance banded his arms around Keith’s waist and pulled him close. “I love you too.”

Keith smiled wide, burying his face into Lance’s neck and pressing a wet kiss there. “ _I love you_.” Now that he'd said it once, he couldn't seem to stop saying it. “I love you so much,” he breathed.

Lance giggled, the sound juvenile and stupid and just plain happy. Holy shit, Keith loved him. “ _Te amo_. I love you too.” He cupped his chin to tip his head back, peppering playful kisses over his face.

“Did you just _giggle_?” Keith teased him, poking him in the side. “You’re so ridiculous.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Shameless about it, Lance pressed a kiss to his nose. “You said you love me four times. In a row! I’m so allowed to giggle, and you’ll just have to deal with it.”

“Hmph.” Keith’s hands fell down to knead Lance’s ass. “Fine,” he relented, and then, “We should shower.”

“That was my plan when I came in here, but then you distracted me by being adorable and then telling me you love me.” Part of him wanted to go around the whole ship and spend the rest of the day bragging about to everyone. Keith loved him. No one had ever told him that outside of family. He wiggled, pressing back against his hands. “As much as I hate to get you out of my jacket, shower sounds good. Cleaning said jacket also sounds good because damn.”

“Yeah, that… kinda got out of hand.” He caught Lance’s lips in another kiss before pulling back and turning on the shower, shrugging out of it. “It probably needs more than just the castle’s cleaning pod, though.”

“Nah. Those things clean everything.” More than happy to help. Lance tugged Keith’s boxers down his thighs so they could pool at his feet. “Mm... _Tantas curvas y yo sin frenos_.”

Keith’s pulse jumped. “Ah, I guess you’re not gonna tell me what that means, either?” He stepped out of his boxers, kicking them to the side.

“Anytime you want a translation, just ask.” Snickering, Lance let his hands slide down his thighs and back up to teasingly trace the curve of his ass. “‘So many curves and me without brakes.’”

“Holy crap, Lance.” Keith sucked in a breath. “Get in the damn shower, oh my god.”

“Just remember, buddy, you love me.” Laughing, Lance tugged Keith in beneath the spray so they could clean off the previous night’s mess and add a little more to the mix.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mobile users, I'm sorry, but you'll have to use your imagination on the translations because _there are literally too many, they exceed the character limit for the end notes, I'm sorry_.
> 
> Find us on Tumblr!  
> [SylviaW1991](http://syl-writes-stuff.tumblr.com/) & [amycoolz](http://montgomery.co.vu/)
> 
> Fic updates every Tuesday!  
> Schedule:  
>  ~~Ch. 1 - 8/9~~  
>  ~~Ch. 2 - 8/16~~  
>  ~~Ch. 3 - 8/23~~  
>  ~~Ch. 4 - 8/30~~  
>  ~~Ch. 5 - 9/10~~  
>  ~~Ch. 6 - 9/13~~


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hover over the Spanish phrases for the translations! And a great big shout out to tumblr user [Kawteeah](http://kawteeah.tumblr.com/) for checking over the translations for this fic! You're the best :D
> 
> So. We have no excuses as to why this is supes late. But chapter 6 (the final chapter!) will still be up on Tuesday. Sorry!!!
> 
> Also, this chap has a billion headcanons? For the blue lion and earth and such.

No one was surprised when Keith and Lance were the last two to wander up to the dining room for breakfast, but Pidge’s groaned “really?” only made Lance’s smirk turn smug. They’d managed, after three run-throughs, to get the jacket clean and Keith had yanked it on before Lance could even think to. But Lance didn’t try very hard to get it back, deciding that his time was much more wisely spent pressing Keith against the nearest wall and kissing him senseless. 

“You almost look as good as I do in it. Almost,” he’d teased, earning a playful swat. 

He did absolutely look good in his jacket, though. Good and claimed. There was a hickey placed high enough on Keith’s neck to be seen above the collar, placed very purposefully in an obvious brag because Lance was still not over the fact that Keith loved him. 

Pretty, stupidly hot Keith loved _him_. 

Lance propped his elbows up on the table, chin resting atop his folded hands and gaze lingering on the red paladin. Life was good. 

Keith kicked him under the table. “Stop staring at me and eat your breakfast.” 

“ _Oh my god_ ,” complained Pidge. Next to Keith, she face-palmed. “Is this what we’re gonna have to endure? You two are awful.” 

Hunk chuckled. “Yeah. I almost miss when they were trying to be subtle.” 

“Pssh. If we weren’t being at least a little subtle, I’d be kissing him like I want instead of just staring.” Lance hooked his leg around Keith’s beneath the table to stop his kicking. 

“That isn’t called being subtle,” Shiro pointed out, smile faint but amused. “It’s called behaving.” 

“Yeah, _Lance_.” He kicked him with his other foot. They were absolutely not being subtle _nor_ behaving right now, but Keith didn’t really much care, Lance’s leg solid and warm against him even through their clothes. 

“What? You weren’t complaining earlier in the sh-” 

“ _Lance_ ,” Shiro interrupted, pinning him with a Dad Look™ that had Lance swallowing his laugh but couldn’t douse his grin. 

“Anyway,” Allura interjected, hiding her amusement in her napkin, “today is our last day orbiting here. Pidge managed to find the proper frequency for our message to travel through the planet’s waters and we’ve received a universal response of understanding. There’s going to be a small celebration-” 

“Do we get a parade?” 

She ignored Lance. “-held in the village you prevented from being... harvested. It was postponed so that all paladins could be awake to attend.” 

Keith shifted his gaze down into his bowl of goo, the tops of his cheeks burning. “Uh, that was nice of them.” He felt a little ashamed, knowing that it was his own dumb decision to jump in front of Lance without his shield drawn that had prevented the ceremonies as they’d wanted. 

Lance covered his hand, thumb rubbing soothing circles against the back. “There was too much stuff to do the other day anyway.” 

“Yeah,” Hunk agreed, pointing at Keith with his spoon. “It’s not just your fault we’re still here.” 

“Thanks, Hunk,” he said, smiling at him; Keith had always liked Hunk, finding the yellow paladin easy to be around. Slowly, he turned his hand over, wrapping his fingers around Lance’s, trying not to draw too much attention to his movement. 

Pidge noticed it anyway. “Gross.” 

Lance was seriously tempted to fling food goo at her, but only stuck out his tongue. Until a realization hit. “Wait, wait, wait. These are, like, fish people, right?” 

“Well, technically they’re Piscpulians,” Coran supplied, twirling the end of his mustache. “But I guess they have some marked similarities to your fish.” 

“Okay, so... are we talking beach party? Surf and sand and swimming?” 

“Of course. The water is very important to this planet and its inhabitants.” Allura smiled when Lance’s free hand shot up, eyes and smile bright as he slumped back in his chair. “I hope everyone is as accepting of that.” 

Keith nodded as he continued to eat his goo. He was excited, really, to have the chance to go swimming again; but he was more excited to be able to go with Lance. Lance, who he could tell was over-the-moon happy that they would be back on a beach again. “I guess I could use a little sun.” 

“You’re gonna need a bit more than a ‘little’, bro,” Hunk commented. 

“Thanks, Hunk.” He took back everything, Hunk was terrible. 

Lance laughed, giving Keith’s hand a squeeze before leaning over to whisper, “As the person who's had the absolute pleasure of seeing you naked several times, you're fine.” When he leaned back, it was to lift their joined hands to his lips to press a warm kiss to Keith’s. “I'll make sure you don’t get sunburned, pretty boy.” 

“Why are you like this,” Pidge said. 

“Lance, come on, man. This is the _breakfast table_.” Hunk sounded so distraught. “This is sacred ground, you can't do that here.” 

Keith laughed despite his blush; he still hadn't gotten used to Lance's stupid pet name, no matter how many times he'd heard it. Especially since he just said it in front of the rest of the team. 

Lance sucked his teeth. “I do what I want.” 

“With varying degrees of success,” Shiro teased. 

Allura held up a hand. “Wait just a tick. Sun... burned?” 

The five humans blinked twice at her before Pidge adjusted her glasses. “Sunburns are a form of radiation burn that affect living tissue, which results from an overexposure to ultraviolet radiation.” 

“Your skin gets all red and it _hurts_ ,” Lance translated. “For, like, _days_.” 

Hunk cocked his head to the side and asked the important question. “You never got sunburned on Altea?” 

“Of course not. Why would the sun try to kill us?” 

None of the paladins could come up with a response to that. Lance was the first to break the quiet. “You know what, I’m just gonna go back to flirting with Keith.” 

“Oh my god,” was Pidge and Hunk’s unanimous opinion. 

“Please don't, I'm trying to eat.” To prove his point, Keith picked up another spoonful of goo and all but shoved it in his mouth, leveling a challenging glare at Lance. 

Lance tipped his head, brows arching. “You do realize that the point of most dates is to eat and flirt at the same time, right?” 

“Lance, you’re no longer behaving.” 

He sighed heavily, but Shiro’s admonishment was nowhere near enough to burst the bubble of happy he was carrying around. Keith loved him, he knew the teasing was good-natured from all of them, and his fingers were still laced with Keith’s, legs tangled under the table. “Please, I’m a paradigm of good behavior.” 

“You’re definitely not,” Hunk laughed, earning an elbow in the side. “Your good behavior is what landed us on Team Voltron in the first place.” 

“You’re welcome.” 

Keith bit back a retort, because if it hadn’t been for Lance’s so-called “good behavior”, they’d have never gotten the chance to become what they are now. Yeah, they were hurtling through space in a giant castle that was actually a ship, battling _aliens_ in robotic flying lions, but it felt good to be a part of something that was making a difference in the universe. Falling in love with Lance just happened to be an added bonus. 

“So, Princess,” he said instead, leaning back in his chair, “when are we going down?” 

“As soon as possible, actually. We’ve been here some time and do need to continue on.” 

“More time at the beach.” Lance grinned. “I’m totally okay with this.” 

“Well,” Hunk started, standing up, “what are we waiting for?” 

Keith looked over at Lance and smiled. “You ready?” 

“Is that even seriously a question?” Lance hopped up, smile bright and wide. An alien beach was still a beach, and it had been way too long since he’d been able to swim and play and just _be_. And he got to do it all with his space family, which was pretty cool. “Let’s get going!” 

“Okay, okay!” Keith got up after Lance, taking hold of his hand again, pointedly ignoring Pidge’s gagging noise. “Let’s go grab our stuff from our room really quick.” 

Hunk stopped. “Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Did I just hear that right? ‘Our?’ As in, you’re sharing?” 

Lance’s smile went smug in a blink. “Oh, yeah.” 

Keith paled, realizing his mistake. “Shit.” 

“Language!” Shiro reprimanded. 

“Yeah, Keith, there are ladies present.” Lance swung his arm around Keith’s waist, smug smile still curving his lips. No matter what he said, his boyfriend was totally shy. 

“Hang on, I’m still trying to figure this out. Whose room did you take? When was this decided? Are you sharing a closet too? Does the bed get bigger if there are two of you?” He blinked. “Wait, is there a way to make the beds bigger?” 

“Mine, this morning, probably? Not so far, and don’t know.” The hand not making its home in Keith’s back pocket aimed a finger gun Hunk’s way. “Can we go get ready for a beach party now? Because, y’know, _beach party_.” 

Pidge hopped up, making her way past them. “They probably picked Lance’s room because moving all of his face gunk would take days.” 

Lance opened his mouth to argue, but ended up actually considering the statement and shrugged in acceptance. That was actually probably accurate. Plus, his room was closer to the kitchen. Very important placement. 

“Come _on_.” Keith started walking away, Lance’s hand falling out of his pocket; he immediately missed its presence, but knew that Lance would catch up and slip it back in. “The sooner we get ready, the sooner we can get down to the water.” 

Lance was indeed quick to catch up, hand stealing into his pocket and lips pressing to his cheek. He needed a beach day. As normal a day as could be gotten flying through space, defending the universe. He was hoping it would finish soothing the sporadic mood swings he kept having on missions. Their relationship had helped, definitely, but it couldn’t take away everything. It could soothe the ache missing his family created, but it couldn’t completely heal it. 

But a day in the water, a day with his toes in the sand and the sun - even a different planet’s sun - warming his skin? That could be a buffer. A really fun buffer with the added benefit of being able to see Keith’s bare, wet chest all day. 

No sooner had he opened his - _their_ bedroom door, the alarms started blaring. Lance’s eyes closed, his “aw, man” a soft sigh. 

“What _now_?” Keith grumbled, even as he grabbed his armor up from where he put it that morning. It reminded him that yeah, he’d actually _moved in_ with Lance, and he smiled as he slid it on. He watched Lance do the same, and then caught his wrist, pulling him in for a kiss. 

Lance sank into it, lapping in comfort the way he did Keith’s taste, and smiled when it ended. “After we take care of this, we are _so_ having beach day.” 

“Yeah, Lance.” Pressing one more kiss against Lance’s cheek, he backed away, grabbing his hand and dragging him out. “Let’s go kick some ass.” 

“Yeah!” 

They made their way up to the control room, not the last for once as they met Hunk in the corridor. He sent Lance a sympathetic look, the only one besides Keith who understood what the beach was for the blue paladin. Lance returned it with a shrug, fingers tangling with Keith’s as they walked in to find Coran pulling up visuals on what was causing the alarms. 

“It looks like another Galra beast. But it’s giving off a weird signal and its movement patterns are all over the place!” 

“We can handle it.” Shiro frowned at the screens. “How long before it reaches the planet?” 

“Um... I’d say about fifteen minutes?” 

“That gives us some time to head it off before it hits the planet. Come on, guys. Let’s-” 

There was a rattle that send them all scrambling to stay upright, grabbing onto one another or the bridge’s stationary equipment. “Coran! What _was_ that?” Allura demanded. 

“I don’t know! It’s nothing on the...” Coran’s shoulders straightened. “That’s not possible.” 

“What?” Pidge asked. 

“It was the creature. It’s on the planet.” 

“Already? But-” They were rocked again, the Galra creation somehow slamming into them from the opposite side. “Get to your lions!” Allura called. “Now!” 

The five paladins sprinted from the room, quickly making their way to their respective lion’s chamber. As soon as Keith was in the cockpit of Red, he opened a private comm channel to Lance. “Good luck out there, Lance. I love you.” 

He grinned, unable to resist. “ _Te amo_ , too.” 

Keith groaned. “You’re never gonna let me live that down, are you?” 

“Absolutely not. I love you too much to _not_ tease you at every opportunity.” Lance blew him a kiss before they were all rocked again. 

Their public comm channel opened. “Let’s go!” Shiro ordered and they flew out. 

Hunk was hit first, the creature vanishing before any of them could actually get a good look at what it was, and Lance was sent careening in the opposite direction before he could even call out to his teammate. “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” He grabbed his controls, righting Blue. “How is it moving so fast?” 

“We’re trying to figure that out!” Allura snapped. “But we can’t get a lock on it!” 

“What can we do?” asked Keith, unable to dodge the creature completely as it came after him. His lion spun for a few seconds before righting he was able to correct himself. “Do we form Voltron?” 

“Usually I would say yes,” Shiro piped up, “but with the way this thing is moving, I think it would be wise to stay separated. It can’t attack us all at once if we’re broken up.” 

“We just need to keep it still long enough to actually hit it,” Pidge mused before cringing, her lion sent scattering. She switched on its cloaking to give herself a chance to think. 

“Yeah, but _how_?” Lance wondered, his lion rumbling softly. “Shiro, duck!” he shouted, no idea how his lion anticipated the creature’s movement. 

But he was able to see it pop out of what seemed to be nowhere, its massive body swinging what looked to be a large club straight at the black lion’s head. Shiro ducked as if in slow-motion, the club going just over its head, and the monster disappeared again. Time shifted back to normal, Lance’s heart suddenly feeling as though it was galloping in his chest. “Blue...?” he murmured, more than a little dazed. 

“Lance? What’s going on?” Keith moved his lion closer, but kept a respectable distance; it wouldn’t do to have them both caught in a situation from which they couldn’t escape. 

“I...” He didn't know, Blue leaving him to figure it out. “Did you guys _see_ that thing? It looked like- like some kind of crazy snail!” As tall as Voltron, but hunched over with a large helix shape pushing it down. 

“Lance, no one saw anything!” Pidge appeared on his screen. “How the heck did you-?” 

“I don’t know. Hunk, go low!” It happened again, time slowing as the creature appeared at the yellow lion’s side. It swung, missing as Hunk very, very slowly dodged, and Lance actually felt a little sick when time returned to normal speed. 

“What the hell is happening?” Keith demanded, thankful that Shiro didn’t try to call him out on his language this time. 

“It's- it's like-” 

“Time is slowing.” 

He glanced at Allura’s face on screen. “Yeah?” 

“You shouldn't be able to see that unless you're looking through your lion’s eyes.” 

“Uh... okay?” 

“Wait! If time’s slowing for him and his lion, we can stop the creature!” Pidge realized. 

Lance was still a little dizzy. “Um. How?” 

It clicked with Shiro at the same time as it did with Pidge. “Lance, your lion has freezing powers. Just freeze it.” 

“Oh.” He blinked. “Oh!” He grabbed his controls a second too late when Blue rumbled, able to protect his team a lot better than he was able to protect himself, and was sent hurtling through space. It hit him again as he was trying to right himself, targeting the blue lion specifically now and batting him around like a baseball. Lance’s heart was beating too fast and hard for him to think, unable to hear Blue’s rumblings. The warning alarms, signaling damage, helped nothing. 

“Lance!” Keith took off after him; he was going to try to act as a buffer between him and the creature, hopefully able to give Lance enough time to charge his lion’s ice beam (TM13). But with not being able to see what was coming at him, it was impossible to actually figure out if his plan was working or not. “Lance, babe, can you hear me? Are you okay?” 

“I- I don’t-” Time just seemed to be slowing and speeding up at random, Lance unable to pick a speed and unable to tell when and where he'd be hit next. _Blue, bud, what are you doing?_ His grip felt slack on the controls, for the first time since the lion had appeared Lance feeling completely uncomfortable in the pilot’s seat. “Keith, I don’t- I don’t know what I'm doing,” he admitted, voice soft. 

“It’ll be alright, Lance,” Shiro cut in. “We’re right behind you.” 

“Yeah,” Keith agreed, moving Red so he was almost on top of Lance, trying to act as a shield. He opened up another private channel to Lance. “Don’t panic, babe, you got this. Just try to focus on your breathing.” 

He would rather continue to focus on panicking, but with Keith so close, it was only a matter of time before he became a target too. He had to get control of this. He _had_ to. He wasn’t going to the reason Keith ended up in Medbay again. Lance stared at his image on screen and time settled around him. Blue’s soft rumble was like a purr, understanding shimmering through both of them. “Yeah. Okay, breathing, yeah.” 

There was a ripple through him, something unexplainable that made him close his eyes, and it was suddenly like he was in space. Not in a lion, but out there looking around, seeing the stars in a way he never had before. _Wow_. There was a ripple, just a small one, off to his side. There. “Keith, go up!” he shouted and Blue dove down just as the ripple opened and the creature reached out its club. A beam shot out of the blue lion’s mouth, freezing the Galra creation in place. “Woo!” 

Shiro’s image appeared on screen, his smile in place. “Great work, Lance!” 

“Absolutely!” Allura agreed. “Coran and I should be able to figure out how it’s moving so quickly now that it’s still.” 

Hunk scoffed. “It doesn’t look like it’s moving now. That was _awesome_ , man!” 

Lance’s gaze shifted to Keith, lips curving. “Obviously. What do you expect from the coolest guy on the team?” 

Keith rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help the smile that settled on his face. “Lucky shot,” he replied, but knew that wasn’t true; Lance was probably the best shot out of all of them, nothing but pure skill shining through when he was in the heat of battle. “What do we do with it?” 

“I vote drop kick it into the nearest sun, then head back in to get our beach party on,” Lance suggested, ignoring the fact that his heart was still racing. He should probably lay down for a minute or something. “Who’s with me?” 

There was a rattle and the creature slipped right through another tear. “It’s creating wormholes!” Allura announced. “That’s how it’s moving so quickly! It’s passing through space-time!” 

“That much rapid manipulation can’t be sustainable,” Pidge replied, incredulous. “It could cause some serious interdimensional damage.” 

“Yeah, but-” Lance slammed the controls, another beam freezing the creature when it reappeared near Shiro. How it had unfrozen itself so quickly was beyond him. “So we, what, break him apart while he’s frozen?” 

“How are we supposed to do that?” Keith asked, watching the creature closely. It was very unnerving. 

“I could body-slam it!” 

“I’m not sure that would work, Hunk…” Shiro said. 

“It’s too big for us to handle that way,” Pidge pointed out, only jolting a little when it popped up next to her and was frozen on the spot. Having Lance be the only one who knew when it was coming or going was more unnerving than the creature itself. 

“It’s definitely-” Lance looked down, his bayard forming in his hand. Oh. “So, hey, let’s try Voltron.” He held up his bayard, grinning at Keith since their channel remained connected. “Blue knows what to do.” 

“Let’s do it.” 

“Okay, team, let’s form Voltron!” Shiro called. 

The other four Paladins smiled. “Yeah!” 

When they finally got Voltron formed, they got into position, the leg with Lance’s lion out in front. 

“Alright, Lance, you’re up.” 

The creature had disappeared again, so there wasn’t time to waste. He slammed his bayard into the slot Blue provided and turned. Voltron shifted, extending the red lion so a trident could form in its hold. Lance laughed, all of them understanding that it could be used to freeze the enemy thanks to their lions. “That’s so cool!” 

“Yeah, now we just have to avoid getting hit!” Hunk pointed out just as they were slammed into, Voltron skidding backwards in space. “Like that!” 

Keith grunted, his hands slipping slightly on the controls before he was able to get a hold of them again. “I can’t see where it’s coming from! Lance, are you still able to tell where it’s gonna pop up at?” 

“I, uh...” He swallowed, scanning his controls for anything that might say “slow-mo feature,” but no such luck. They were hit again from the other side. 

“Lance, you’ve got to give us something. We can’t freeze what we can’t see,” Shiro said from the head of Voltron. “Feel the bond with your lion.” 

He always felt a bond with his lion, geez. Lance didn’t say so, for once holding his tongue so he could think. Voltron wouldn’t handle too many hits like that, not directly. They couldn’t even use their shield effectively without knowing what they were looking for when. “Alright, Blue,” he murmured. “What’ve we got? This has to translate to Voltron somehow.” 

Lance rested his palm on the control panel, eyes closing. Bonds. Right. Whatever had happened solo could happen again. He cringed when another hit sent them spiraling, but kept his eyes closed until he felt the sensation of being pulled outside to gaze into space as Blue did. When he could feel more than see a ripple, he used his position as the leg to turn them. “Straight ahead, Keith! Firing now!” He slammed a button that materialized beneath his palm and a beam shot out of the center spear of the trident, freezing the creature. “Alright! Hashtag nailed it!” 

“Yes!” Keith exclaimed, resisting the urge to fist-pump. 

“Great shot, guys.” Shiro’s voice was proud and triumphant over the comms, and it made Keith feel even better, when they were able to come together as a team and do amazing things like that. “Let’s go see what we can do with it.” 

The trident dissolved, Lance removing his bayard. “I think a sword might be a little more effective in breaking this guy apart. Huh, Keith?” 

“You got it.” Cockiness taking over, he inserted his own bayard into Red, and the familiar shape of his sword materialized in his lion’s mouth. “Everybody ready?” Another round of “Yeah!”s sounded back at him and then they shot off. 

When they were close enough, Keith slammed his controls forward, bringing the sword down and slicing through the frozen creature. It shattered under the force, several parts of it floating away through space. 

“Woo, yeah!” Hunk cried victoriously. 

“It worked!” Throwing his hands into the air, Keith smiled at Lance through the screen. 

“Paladins!” Allura’s voice chimed back in, urgency evident in her tone. “Do not let those pieces get away. I’d like you to collect them so we can examine them.” 

“Aw, man, seriously?” Lance groaned. 

“It’s been zipping through wormholes!” Coran chimed in. “Those pieces could create their own tears in space and who knows? It’s possible that it could create several more creatures exactly like it using the dimensional distortions. Or the pieces could just fly off willy-nilly and not do much of anything. It’s hard to tell.” 

“Besides, we’ve never had access to one of the Galra creatures to study!” Pidge realized, excitement clear. “We have the potential to find out how they’re made!” 

Shiro chuckled. “Alright, team, let’s split up and get these puzzle pieces picked up.” 

“That’s a lot of alliteration. Did you do that on purpose or-?” 

“ _Lance_.” 

“Okay, okay.” 

Voltron separated, the five lions breaking off to herd frozen pieces into the path of the tractor beam the Castle of Lions sent out. Lance stuck as close to Keith as he could, grinning at him and switching to their private comm line. “Thanks, pretty boy.” 

“You’re welcome,” he replied, then paused. “For what, exactly?” 

“Well, if you don’t know...” Lance laughed at the glare. “For helping me keep my head on straight, jerk. But I think I’m gonna need a couple minutes to stretch out when we get back inside. That was _wild_.” 

Keith couldn’t argue that. “I’m still not even sure I understand what happened. A Galra-made creature that can jump through wormholes? How did they manage to do that?” 

“Space magic? I dunno. Allura can create wormholes, and I’m pretty sure-” He violently rattled in his seat, the public channel overriding their private one. 

“Lance, get out of the w-”  Allura’s voice vanished cut off by the speed with which Lance was shot into a wormhole that formed around him and Blue. 

“Lance!” Pidge yelped. “Allura, can you keep the wormhole open?” 

“I didn’t create it! Trying to keep it open without knowing where it goes could destabilize the entire area!” 

“Oh man, oh man,” Hunk groaned. “This is bad! Should we go after him? We should go after him.” 

But the portal was closing quickly, too quickly for any of them to make it to him in time. Except for the red lion. “Keith,” Shiro cautioned, already knowing what was going to happen, “we don’t know where that thing goes.” 

“I don’t care!” He swerved Red around and bolted. The wormhole was already beginning to close, so he leaned forward in his seat, willing his lion to go _Faster, damn it, come on!_ He could see Lance’s face on his screen still, eyes wide and scared. It only made him push harder. “Lance!” 

He reached him just in time for the wormhole to close around them both. 

The two of them were hurtled through space, the unstable wormhole keeping Lance tumbling end over end and clinging to the blue lion’s controls with his eyes squeezed shut. The freaking Galra and their crazy monsters and their hard-on for taking over the universe and- and, fuck, Lance just wanted to go home. He could only dimly hear Keith’s voice, the red lion stable enough to draw closer to him, but his head was still all over the place from the sudden pressure in bonding with his lion. Spinning wasn’t helping, his wildly beating heart trapped in his throat and the breakfast he’d barely touched churning in his stomach. 

He just wanted to go home. White sandy beaches, rain, oceans stretching out blue and pristine as far as the eye could see, his _family_ \- it was all he wanted as went through the unstable portal and shot out the other side. Lance was finally able to right his lion, sprawling back in his chair and trying to catch his breath so he wouldn’t do something embarrassing like hurl. 

Keith made it out just after Lance, almost ran into him due to the force of being spit out. “Lance!” he called out again, bringing his lion as close to Lance’s as possible. “Are you okay? Please tell me you’re okay.” 

Lance wheezed. It was the best he could manage at the moment, hands lifted to cover his eyes. His helmet was pushed up, hitting the deck with a clunk and rolling, but he couldn’t really be bothered to grab it. 

“Lance, I’m gon-” He cut himself off, sat back down since he was already rising from his seat to go to Lance, and stared out of the window. In front of them, still a ways away, was a planet, one that looked too much like Earth to be anything but. “Lance, I think… I think that’s _Earth_.” 

His breath hitched. “That’s not a nice thing to tell me when my brain’s probably ten seconds away from oozing out of my ears, Keith.” 

“I’m not trying to be mean, Lance,” he snapped, “Look out of your window.” 

He almost didn’t, feeling petulant and dizzy and still more than a little sick. But Keith loved him, right? He wouldn’t be _that_ big of an ass. Sighing, Lance dropped his hands and sat up a little straighter to gaze out. His grasp on the controls went tight, eyes rounding when they found the blue planet. “That... No way.” Home was right there, literally in front of their eyes. “Oh my god.” 

Keith tried to get closer, but there was already no space between their lions. “Lance, let’s- let’s go down.” 

Lance sucked in a sharp breath, Blue’s feet shuffling almost nervously in space. It knew the same way Lance did that going down could mean not coming back. “Just... It'll be quick, right? Just to- to see what's up.” 

“Yeah, Lance,” he said, knowing that once they were down there the blue paladin would not want to leave. But he also knew that Lance had a good heart, and would make the decision to go back to the castle and the rest of Team Voltron. “I promise.” 

Blue still hesitated, and Lance could feel it. “Okay...” There was a soft rumble in the back of his head, Lance bowing his head as he thought. The rumble wasn't as soft as it had been that first day, his connection with the blue lion having grown in leaps and bounds. But he'd been open to this crazy adventure from day one and Blue was as aware of that as he was. An instant connection and trust? Hell yeah, thanks. People were harder to connect to sometimes, and he had his family right in front of him. 

Blue rumbled again, knowing where his mind was. Lance turned off his mic and muted Keith with a guilty glance towards his projection on screen. “Look, I know... I know this isn't part of the mission and it's probably not in the Paladin Code, but it's the right thing to do. Please, Blue. I took you home. I just need you to return the favor.” 

Blue’s stance shifted, and Lance switched his mic back on. “What are the odds of your hover... bike... thing still being at your cabin? We're gonna need some non-lion transportation.” 

“Well, nobody knew that I was living in that cabin. Hopefully it’s still there, unless the garrison got a hold of it…” 

Lance nodded. “That's probably the best place to start. We'll check it out, get our lions hidden in the mountain range. If it's not there, I know how to get transportation from the garrison in a way that may not exactly be sanctioned.” 

Keith laughed. “Of course you do.” 

“Do you know how boring that place is on a Friday night? Had to get out somehow.” Lance grinned, awed to know that they were actually going home. Maybe his head was spinning more than he even realized. “Come on, pretty boy. Let’s go.” 

Seeing Lance so excited to see his family again, knowing that they were _so close_ to that happening, made Keith deliriously happy. But he was also nervous because _he was going to meet Lance’s family._ He started to freak out a little bit. Was it too soon? What if they didn’t like him? Lance had insisted that they would, but there was always a chance that they’d hate him and then Lance would break up with him because he knew how much he values his family and- 

And he was an idiot. As he flew his lion next to Lance’s, he glanced at the screen, able to see the bright smile spread across his beautiful face. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down; he’d be fine. 

They landed near the abandoned cabin on the water, Lance shedding his armor before climbing out. He kept his bayard on his hip, though, just in case they ended up in a situation that needed a quick escape. From what they could see from their lions, everything seemed the same as when they'd left. 

Lance sighed when his sneakers touched desert sand, breathing in fresh, hot air, and laughed. They were home. Safe and home with no Galra in sight. He darted to Keith when he left his lion, throwing his arms around his waist and crashing their lips together. They were home. 

Keith cupped Lance’s face between his hands, tilting his head and immediately deepening the kiss. His grip on Lance’s cheeks was a little too firm, but he didn’t care, because Lance was _okay_ and kissing him and they were both _on Earth_. He broke the kiss on a gasp, but didn’t pull away. 

“Okay, now I know my head’s still spinning. But this, I like.” Lance rested their brows together, trying to catch his breath. “We're on Earth. Today's been the craziest day. You said you love me, I watched reality in slow-motion, and we're on Earth.” 

“It has been pretty insane,” Keith agreed, dropping his hands to rest on Lance’s shoulders. Just being able to see and feel Lance in front of him was helping to calm him down. “I can’t believe we’re here…” 

“I know.” They were going to see his family. Holy crow, he was going to be able to introduce Keith to his family! Lance grinned, giving him a friendly squeeze. “I love you.” 

He pressed his lips firmly back to Lance’s, breathing him in. “I love you, too, Lance.” He glanced over to the shack warily. “We should go inside.” 

“Yup. Probably a good plan.” Lance kissed him again before drawing back, lacing their fingers before tugging Keith towards his shack. He kept his free hand over his bayard just in case. Nothing looked touched, but that didn't mean nothing had been. 

They ducked behind his hoverbike, finding the gas tank more than half-full and a fine layer of sand covering its surface. They darted into the cabin itself next, Keith’s corkboard still littered with notes in the living room. There was still a cup on the coffee table that Lance had left on purpose, pettily expecting Keith to come home and have to clean up after him. Lance smiled, proud of himself for it. “It looks like we're good here.” 

“Yeah.” Keith blew out a relieved breath; besides it being a thousand degrees and the air thick with dust, it looked fine. Everything was as he left it, including that stupid cup Lance had left on his table; he’d meant to give him a piece of his mind about that, but more important things had happened at the time. He walked over to the right side of the room, where he opened a hidden compartment in the wall, and retrieved the keys to the hoverbike, holding them up to show Lance. “We’re definitely good.” 

“Nice!” Lance spun towards the door. “Now let’s get out of here. How much faster can that thing of yours go if there are just the two of us on it?” 

Keith smirked, though Lance didn’t see it. “Much faster,” was all he offered as an answer, following him outside. He swung a leg over the seat and settled down, the feeling of it under him comfortably familiar. Willing it to actually _start_ , he stuck the key in the ignition and turned, smiling when it came to life. “Hop on.” 

“What? You or the bike because- Okay, okay.” Lance grinned at the bland look before climbing on behind him. He pressed close, arms wrapping around his waist, and pressed a kiss to the back of his neck. Last time they'd been on this thing, Keith had suggested throwing him off. God, it felt like a lifetime had passed since then. “Head for the city. I can navigate once we're there.” 

Kicking the bike in gear, Keith zipped off towards the city, the hot desert air whipping through his hair. Lance was a solid weight behind him, feeling his arms fluctuating between tightening and then relaxing around his middle. He turned his head slightly, enough to catch Lance’s eye and smile, before focusing on guiding the hoverbike back into civilization. 

Well, hell. Lance could feel color fill his face, quick to press it against Keith’s shoulder. Stupidly hot jerk on his hoverbike on Earth because they were on Earth. His fingers curled into Keith’s t-shirt. He kind of wished he'd actually talked to Keith at the garrison instead of glaring at the back of his head in class. But he was also more than alright with the way things had ended up, defending the universe by day and snuggled up close at night. And now he was going to be able to introduce him to his family. 

They crested a hill, the buildings coming into view, and Lance’s breath caught. Skyscrapers reached towards the clouds near the center, but it was the sprawl of suburbs surrounding him that they wanted. The wealthy lived further in, and Lance’s family did not fit there. Neither did Hunk’s, to think about it. Hunk’s family. 

Lance shifted just a little closer to Keith, fingers tightening their grip on his shirt. Hunk had a family. Pidge had one too, and he knew where the Holt family lived. After the tragedy, most of the garrison had learned where the Holt family lived. He swallowed, lifting his head. “At the main gates, make a right. Third street down, go left. We'll follow that for a while.” 

Keith nodded and did as he was told, the houses blurring in his vision as they sped through the streets. With their close proximity, Keith could feel Lance’s heart beating wildly against his back, and he certainly didn’t miss the way his hands were clenched into his shirt, wrinkling the fabric. He knew without a doubt that Lance was not only thinking about his own family, but everyone else’s too, because Lance was such a good person at heart. 

He slowed down a little once they had taken the left turn; even though Lance told him they would be on this road for a bit, he didn’t want to miss the directions. “Do you know about how far it is from here?” 

Closer than his house. “Not too far. We're making a detour. Um. Two detours, technically.” 

“Okay, where to?” 

“Uh. Pidge’s place and Hunk’s.” He dropped his brow to Keith’s shoulder. “I'm not- We can’t just see mine. We don’t know when we'll be back, and we're not supposed to be here now. I can’t not stop there too.” 

Keith took a hand off of the handlebars briefly to brush his fingers over Lance’s hair. “Hey, it’s alright. I, uh, kinda figured you might want to stop there, too.” 

Lance sighed, shoulders relaxing. “Okay. This street dead ends. You'll make a left. Also, I really love you.” 

He hummed, knowing that Lance could feel the vibrations of it through his fingers. When they got to the end of the street, he took a left as instructed, and then waited for more directions. 

Lance nestled his chin on Keith’s shoulder, watching the houses fly by and steadily become townhouses. “Take the next right.” They turned seamlessly and Lance waited for the townhouses to shift back into tightly pressed houses. Much further in was his house, nearly on top of his neighbors with only the sparsest of yards. “One more left, two streets up. Then slow this thing. It'll be the fourth or fifth house down.” 

Keith slowed the hoverbike down considerably once they made it on the street Lance had indicated; he counted the houses and pulled to a stop in between the fourth and fifth, looking back at Lance. “Is this it?” 

The fifth house had a flag with the Kerberos mission’s insignia. “Oh, yeah. This is it.” Lance swung off the bike when they stopped, folding his arms behind his head. “Hopefully, she believes us.” 

Jumping down, Keith slipped his hand into Lance’s and squeezed. “Let’s go.” 

They went to the door and knocked quickly, Lance’s heart clenching and grip on Keith tightening when Mrs. Holt’s eyes watered when they said they wanted to talk about Katie. Less than an hour later, they were back on Keith’s hoverbike and heading towards Hunk’s house. Lance had a backpack that belonged to Matt Holt and a container of peanut butter cookies on his back. Pidge would like them. 

“Hunk’s got two little sisters and his mom. His place isn't far from mine, but they’re in the apartments. Take a right here. We're going halfway around the city and this is the most direct route.” 

“Alright.” Keith sped the bike up, zipping through the streets until Lance told him to stop, pulling up in front of a small row of apartment buildings. They were multicolored, an attempt to brighten up the drab area, and it worked to a point. The families were close, crime held towards streets further down, and a mixture of Spanish and Portuguese filled the air as they pulled into an alley and climbed off the bike. 

“Uh. Can I get my jacket back? There's a pretty strong chance of me being recognized around here.” 

“...Is that a bad thing?” he asked, slipping the jacket down his arms and handing it over. “What’s going on?” 

“I grew up around here.” He pulled the fabric on, flipping the hood up. “And we're kind of in a hurry. I just don't really want someone stopping us.” Especially since Mrs. Holt had explained that their families were being kept in the dark about the details of their disappearances. 

Keith nodded his understanding and followed Lance up the narrow walkway. “Which one is Hunk’s?” 

“This one.” Lance stopped at a faded yellow building, pushing open the door for Keith to walk through first. 

The third door in, Lance knocked quickly and the door was flung open in seconds. “Lance!” 

He smiled weakly, pushing the hood back. “Hi.” 

Two girls poked their heads out, neither older than six and both with dark braids. “Where's Hunk?” the older one demanded. 

“Uh. Space?” 

“Space!” Hunk’s mother pulled them both inside. After their explanation, she gave both Lance and Keith tight hugs before sending them on their way with several candy bars and spices to add to the backpack. Hunk would doubtlessly figure out what to use them on. 

“Okay. My house isn't far from here.” Lance flipped the hood back up as they climbed back onto the bike, keeping his face tucked against Keith’s shoulder. “Literally the first left, third house down.” 

Keith was getting nervous again, heart hammering against his chest; he was sure that Lance could feel it. He slowly maneuvered the bike around the corner and inched up to the third house, stopping in front of the sidewalk and leaning back into Lance’s embrace. Turning his head, he looked at Lance. “Well… here we are.” 

“Yeah.” And this was scarier than the first two stops. He smiled anyway. “Come on, pretty boy. You’re not nervous, are you?” 

“Of course, I am,” he admitted, covering Lance’s arms with his own. 

Laughing, Lance pressed a kiss to his neck. “You don’t have anything to worry about. Seriously.” He hopped off the bike, removing his jacket to swing it over Keith’s shoulders and brushed their lips together. “They’ll love you.” 

It didn’t stop his stomach from clenching, but he was able to relax a little bit at Lance’s reassurance. He took a deep breath in and swung one leg over the seat. “Alright, let’s go.” 

The door flew open before Keith had even fully gotten off the bike, the kids both under ten with eyes as wide as saucers. “I told you it was Lance!” the girl cheered, bouncing down the porch steps while the boy spun to shout into the house. 

“ _Ay_! _Él vino a casa_!” 

“ _Callete_!” Lance demanded, the girl plowing into his legs. “Oh my god.” 

“Lance!” Dark hair pulled into low pigtails, she looked up and gripped the fabric of his jeans. “You’re home! You came home!” She spared Keith a glance, her wide smile revealing missing front teeth. “Oooh! He’s wearing your jacket. _Debe ser el novio de mi hermano!_ ” 

“Yes, he is, and he can’t understand you. Go inside. Let’s go.” 

They made it two steps when the boy barrelled into Lance’s legs as well, grabbing his hand even as he looked at Keith with pure suspicion. “ _Cómo se llama? Cuántos años tenéis? De dónde venéis_?” 

“Keith, my age, none of your business. Get inside.” He spun them both, pushing their backs to herd them into the house. “Come on, Keith. Before they alert the entire neighborhood.” 

He chuckled, stepping away from the bike; he pushed his arms through the sleeves of the jacket, coming over and taking Lance’s hand. “Your brother and sister? What were they asking you? It sounded like an interrogation.” 

“Well, these are the younger ones. I’ve got five older ones, and there’s no telling if they’ll be here or not. And they were asking about you. Michael there likes detective shows, so he’s always asking questions. They’ll get more personal if you let him, so don’t. Stefani’s better behaved, but not by much. She’s already figured out that you’re my boyfriend. And-” 

“And I don’t know why you think you can just stroll in here with a boyfriend after having been gone for so long.” 

Lance’s shoulders stiffened, but his hand went slack in Keith’s. The woman was just a hair shorter than Lance, dark auburn curls spilling over her shoulders. “Mom. Mom, mom- holy crow, mom!” Lance scrambled up the porch steps to throw his arms around her, face pressed against her shoulder. 

Stefani looked up at Keith, smiling her gap-toothed grin. “He’s a mama’s boy.” 

He grinned down at her, finding the whistling that her missing teeth were making totally endearing. “I kinda had him pegged as one.” Keith looked back up at Lance, still wrapped in his mom’s hug. “But he’s a good guy.” 

She giggled. “ _Eres muy lindo._ ” 

“Don’t flirt with my boyfriend, Stefani.” Hugging his mom didn’t make Lance deaf. “You’re too young for him.” 

She giggled again, and pushed her way past him and their mother to dart inside. Michael huffed. “Girls are crazy. Um. Mom, you’re not crazy.” 

“Thank you, Michael.” She patted Lance’s cheeks when she drew away. “Inside now. _Vamos_. How’s his Spanish, Lance?” 

“Awful.” Lance trotted back down the steps to grab Keith’s hand. “We can talk bad about him behind his back.” 

“Hey!” he exclaimed indignantly. Keith let Lance drag him up the steps until they came to a stop in front of his mom. He blushed under her scrutiny, but held out his other hand in an attempt to not make a fool of himself. “It’s, uh, nice to meet you, Mrs. McClain. I’m Keith.” He was proud that he’d only stuttered a little. 

“It’s wonderful to meet you.” She took his hand, but didn't shake, both hands holding his as she studied him. “Lance doesn’t keep people long enough to bring them home, so this is a treat.” 

Lance’s face colored. “Thanks, mom. Let’s just- you know, go inside. For the millionth time. Who’s all here?” 

She ushered them in, closing and latching the door behind her. “Everyone but your father and Mary. They should be home from work soon, though.” 

Lance blinked. Holy hell, he hadn’t thought Keith would be meeting everyone! “Why is _everyone_ here?” 

“ _Mi hijo_ , it’s Saturday.” 

He blinked again. “Seriously?” Lance glanced at his boyfriend. “My dad usually has short days at his shop Saturdays, so the family comes over for the afternoon unless they’re on missions. And- _ow_!” 

His ear was grabbed by a redhead, lips twisted into a scowl as she tugged. “You! Are! Dead!” 

“Theresa, _ow_!” 

“Ow is the least of your worries, you little loser! _Que te la pique un pollo_!” 

“Language, Theresa,” was their mother’s only comment as she walked by to get to the kitchen. 

“Because of you running away from the garrison like a crazy person, I got an inquiry at work! It’s bad enough that you steal hover cars, you idiot, but you broke into a quarantine and _ran away_! You can’t just come back in here like everything’s okay!” 

“I didn’t run awa- you’re gonna pull my ear off!” 

Keith decided to pipe up to save Lance. “He’s telling the truth, he didn’t run away.” She leveled a glare at him now, but had at least let go of Lance’s ear. He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Um, what I mean is that we’ve been in space fighting against an alien tyrant who’s trying to take over the universe?” 

Lance immediately hid behind Keith, rubbing his ear. “ _Vete a freír espárragos_ ,” he muttered and she pointed at him. 

“I heard that.” 

“I hope so.” 

“Theresa, chill.” The teenager that wandered into the hall pushed their oldest sister’s shoulder before settling her hand on a cocked hip. “I’ve been dying to hear about this, and they won’t tell us what happened if you’re pissing him off.” She saluted Keith lazily. “Hey. I’m Raquel. You can do better than our brother.” 

“Why did I want to come back here?” Lance wondered. 

Keith laughed, finally feeling more at ease. “You wouldn’t shut up about how much you missed them,” he pointed out, “I’d say that’s a good reason.” 

“Aw, Lance. I didn’t know you cared.” Raquel’s lashes fluttered, smug smirk a female version of Lance’s. 

“Nope. I just remembered that I don’t. We’re going to leave now and get back to fighting off that alien tyrant.” 

“If you seriously think I’m buying that lame excuse, you’ve got another thing coming, buddy. You are F-U-C- Uh.” Theresa broke off because the youngest two siblings poked their heads around the corner. “You’re in so much trouble. I should take you back to the garrison right now.” 

There was a laugh behind her that could’ve rattled the windows, the big man pushing into the narrow halls tall and wide enough to put Hunk to shame. He threw his arms around both paladins, lifting them off the ground with ease and carting them into the living room. “Theresa, dead men don’t speak. Be nice.” He set them both down, clapping a hand onto Keith’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry that you’re stuck in the middle of this. More sorry that you somehow ended up with Lance. He’s trash that tries to be pretty.” 

“Hey, I _know_ I’m pretty,” Lance defended. 

“Yeah! I didn’t waste years on him for him not to be pretty,” Raquel agreed, flopping onto the couch. “You’d be just as pretty if you listened to me, Teo.” 

“Uh.” Keith slid his gaze to Lance. He was, admittedly, a little overwhelmed, not having been surrounded by so many people since the garrison. But Lance was smiling, eyes shining bright with pure happiness; he fell in love all over again. “You are kinda trash,” he teased, smirking. 

Lance swung an arm around his waist. “As long as I’m also pretty.” 

“Ooh! Somebody is _whipped_!” Raquel mimed a whip cracking, complete with sound-effect. 

“ _Te doy una hostia que te visto de torero_.” 

She lifted her chin. “Try it, bucko. Get wrecked.” 

This was pure chaos. “What is happening?” Keith asked. 

“A Saturday at my house. Don’t worry, pretty boy.” Lance pressed a kiss to his temple, ignoring Raquel’s wolf whistle. “We won’t be here long.” 

“Okay, but where have you been?” Theresa demanded. 

“Space.” 

“The final frontier,” Raquel added. Theresa smothered her with a throw pillow. 

“ _Oh my god_.” Keith buried his face in his hands in second-hand embarrassment, but eventually laughed into his palms. “How do you live with this on a daily basis?” 

“Very carefully,” Teo quipped. 

Lance grinned. “Here, let me actually introduce you the right way to all these people. Birth order. Theresa works at the garrison, Teo’s basically one of the best fighter pilots on Earth, Hector is most likely in the kitchen and you’ll meet him, Mary’s with my dad at work, Raquel is trouble-” 

“What he means is that Raquel is a better pilot that Teo will ever be,” she interrupted. 

Lance continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “Then you know me. Michael and Stefani are currently hiding probably. That’s all the sibs. Where’s grandma and grandpa?” 

“Upstairs. Grandpa’s napping, grandma’s knitting.” Teo sank down into an armchair, gesturing to one of the free ones. Lance dropped down, pulling Keith into his lap. When Teo’s face shifted to something serious, it was like a weight over the whole room. “Where have you been, Lance?” 

“Defending the universe.” 

“ _Eso es puro mierda_.” 

Lance shrugged. “I’m serious. We’ve been in space, defending the universe from a tyrant. Theresa, did they tell you about a blue lion?” 

“Not exactly. They asked me if I knew about any... peculiar spacecrafts in the area.” 

“That’d be Blue.” Lance grinned, setting his chin on Keith’s shoulder. “I’m basically one of the five coolest people in the whole universe right now.” 

“ _Eso es puro mierda_ ,” was repeated, this time by all three present siblings. 

“I’m serious!” 

“I get the feeling that you’re a big liar,” Keith said, receiving nods from around the room, “but…” He turned to address Teo, “He’s not actually lying. This time. There really is an alien out there hellbent on destroying everything. We've been fighting against him in our robotic lions.” He found Lance’s hand and laced their fingers, knocking their heads together lightly. “But you’re not cool, Lance, like, at all.” 

“Wow. That's really mean. I'm super cool.” 

“So how about some proof?” 

“Theresa, be nice.” There was a new voice, this one the only one with an accent. “Don’t tease your brother so much.” 

“Dad!” Lance stood quickly, deposited Keith on the chair in a flurry of excitement, and darted across the room to him, their hug quick but tight. He swung out of it to gesture to Keith, still a bit disgruntled about being so effectively abandoned. “ _Quiero presentarle a mi novio_ , Keith.” 

“ _Estás en vuestra casa_. Welcome.” He smiled and looked back to Lance. “Will you be here long?” 

_Yes._ It was on the tip of his tongue. Of course they'd be there long. They'd stay. It was Saturday. The family was together Saturdays. He wanted to stay forever. Lance sighed, shoulders falling. “No. We have to get back.” 

“You’re leaving again?” His mother entered from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a damp rag. “For how long?” 

“I... I don’t know.” 

“I'm still waiting for proof,” Theresa insisted. “And a better explanation. How did you get mixed up in fighting an alien on... robotic lions? Really?” 

Keith paled, shooting Lance a look and said, “That’s kind of a long story.” 

“Basically, everything you know about the Kerberos mission is a lie. The reason I busted into quarantine was to break out Shiro-” 

“Takashi Shirogane?” Teo patted his heart, grinning. “He’s a legend, man.” 

“I _know_! And no one was listening to him just because he sounded completely crazy talking about aliens.” Lance waved a hand. “Anyway, busted him out, found a magic ancient alien blue lion robot ship under a mountain. Flew out to space, and now we fight bad guys. And here's my proof, Theresa, so shut up.” Lance flipped up his bayard, making sure his family saw it before it transformed into the oversized rifle. “Keith’s is a sword.” 

“Because swords are cool.” 

“Raquel, don't tease your brother when he has a magic gun.” 

Keith smirked. He liked Raquel; she reminded him a lot of Lance, except not quite as obnoxious. “He's a terrible shot anyway,” he lied, lifting his gaze to Lance. 

“You're just mad because I dumped you in a chair.” Lance stuck his tongue out at him, but hooked his bayard back onto his belt loop. “I took out, like, a thousand Galra droids when we were on that planet, thanks.” 

“So he really took out, what, five?” Theresa mused, trying not to be impressed by the loudmouth now that there was some proof. That weaponry was the most advanced she'd seen. 

“One by accident,” Teo bet with a laugh. 

“Right? He sneezed when he pulled the trigger, and _bam_.” Raquel snickered. “Down for the count.” 

Keith really wanted Lance to come sit with him again, kept shooting him looks, only to have them ignored. Whatever. He’d continue to rag on him with his siblings. That was fun. “You’re not that far off.” 

“You’re so full of crap.” Lance went back to the chair and sprawled across Keith’s lap in a huff. “I'm awesome.” 

“ _You_ ,” he groaned under Lance’s sudden weight, “are a loser.” Okay, so he got what he wanted, but he couldn't resist the opportunity to further embarrass him. He got his hands under Lance’s leg and shoulder blade and shoved, sending him toppling to the floor, laughing at his flailing. 

“Alright, rude. We'll see if you get any more attention from me.” Lance glared at him, but didn't move away when he sat back up. He just pillowed his cheek against Keith’s calve, arms folded across his chest. 

Rolling his eyes, but still smiling, Keith reached for him, grabbing his arm and pulling. “Get up here, idiot.” 

Lance went easily, laughing as he wormed his way beneath Keith so his arms could stay comfortably wrapped around his middle. It was so easy for him to fall into the rhythm of his family, murmuring translations in Keith’s ear when Spanish was banded about as casually as English. 

They stayed longer than they should have, Lance a mess of tears when he found out that his sister Mary was pregnant, and him and Keith both full of warning when they found out that his brother Hector was slated to be the navigator for the next Kerberos mission. The youngest ended up begging and pleading to see Keith’s bayard in action, five year old Stefani boldly kissing his cheek when he obliged. 

Thunder was rumbling when they finally walked back out the front door, the hugs an affair all by themselves since Keith got the same tight squeezes as Lance. His mother especially, telling them both to be careful and to bring the whole team next time. “Thank you for taking care of my baby,” she whispered to Keith. 

He tightened the hug briefly, actually having to hold back tears, though he’d never confess that. “You're welcome, Mrs. McClain,” he murmured back, “I'll keep an eye on him.” He glanced at the blue paladin over her shoulder, smiling when they made eye contact, and then pulled back. “I love your son very much. I won't let anything happen to him.” As far as he could help. 

“ _Bienvenido a nuestra familia_.” She smiled. “Lance, don’t keep him waiting. _Vamos_.” 

“I'm not, geez.” But it was so hard to leave. He swung the bag over his shoulders, laden down with more spices and some skincare products from Raquel. He had her music player, too, full of the latest tracks to keep him semi-current. Or at least not so bored with what he had available. “Come on, pretty boy. The team's probably freaking out a little.” 

Keith laced their fingers together again, waving back with his free hand at Lance’s family all gathered on the front porch. He’d made it through without embarrassing himself too much, and it seemed like they really did like him, just as Lance had promised. 

He squeezed Lance’s hand and began to walk back to the hoverbike. “I love your family, Lance,” he muttered. “Thank you.” 

He grinned, swinging onto the bike behind him. “I knew you would. They love you too. Just as much as I do.” 

Keith started the engine, sighing contentedly when Lance’s arms wrapped around him. “Okay,” he said, kicking the bike into gear, “let’s get back out there.” 

Lance watched his family for the few seconds it took for them to blur out of view, a combination of the bike’s speed and the stupid tears trying to fill his eyes. He was leaving them again. He didn’t know how long it'd be before he got back. But at least this time, he left knowing what he was getting into. His family finally knew where he was, what he'd been doing, and he knew they were proud for all their teasing. 

He clutched Keith’s shirt, sky growing darker with clouds the farther they went. At Keith’s, they added a couple of his very few personal possessions to the bag and sprinted across the sand to get back to their lions, bubbled and waiting patiently for their paladins to return. “Do you think they'll be pissed we were gone so long?” Lance wondered, laying a hand on the shield surrounding Blue so it would fall. 

“Probably,” Keith replied, doing the same. “They'll get over it.” Before he made his way up the ramp into Red’s mouth, he walked over to Lance, pulled him in to place a kiss on his lips. “Whatever happens now, Lance, we'll handle it. I love you.” 

“I love you too.” Lance wrapped his arms around Keith’s waist, clinging to him as much as he was just one more minute on Earth. When the first drop of water fell onto his head, he laughed shakily and held tighter. 

“Come on,” Keith said, smoothing a hand over Lance’s hair before letting go. 

They both got into their lions and shot back up into space, leaving Earth behind once more. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spanish Translations (for mobile users):  
>  _Él vino a casa_ \- He came home!
> 
>  _Callete_ \- Shut up!
> 
>  _Debe ser el novio de mi hermano_ \- You must be my brother’s boyfriend
> 
>  _Cómo se llama?_ \- What's your name?
> 
>  _Cuántos años tenéis?_ \- How old are you?
> 
>  _De dónde venéis?_ \- Where do you live?
> 
>  _Eres muy lindo_ \- You're very cute/pretty
> 
>  _Vamos_ \- Let's go
> 
>  _Mi hijo_ \- My son
> 
>  _Que te la pique un pollo_ \- I hope chickens peck your dick
> 
>  _Vete a freír espárragos_ \- Go fry asparagus
> 
>  _Te doy una hostia que te visto de torero_ \- I'll give you a slap that'll dress you as a bullfighter
> 
>  _Eso es puro mierda_ \- That's pure shit
> 
>  _Quiero presentarle a mi novio_ \- This is my boyfriend
> 
>  _Estás en vuestra casa_ \- Make yourself at home
> 
>  _Bienvenido a nuestra familia_ \- Welcome to the family
> 
> Find us on Tumblr!  
> [SylviaW1991](http://syl-writes-stuff.tumblr.com/) & [amycoolz](http://montgomery.co.vu/)
> 
> Fic updates every Tuesday!  
> Schedule:  
>  ~~Ch. 1 - 8/9~~  
>  ~~Ch. 2 - 8/16~~  
>  ~~Ch. 3 - 8/23~~  
>  ~~Ch. 4 - 8/30~~  
>  ~~Ch. 5 - 9/10~~  
>  ~~Ch. 6 - 9/13~~


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A great big shout out to tumblr user [Kawteeah](http://kawteeah.tumblr.com/) for checking over the translations for this fic! You're the best :D

Blue, it turned out, could create portals without Allura. It was why the blue lion had been most suited to being sent as far away as Earth to begin with as she could slide through the galaxies like the water she and her paladin represented. It also turned out that wormholes, in distorted circumstances, could really, seriously mess time up.

Allura popped onto their screens before the portal Blue opened had even closed all the way. “Thank- Why are you two out of uniform?”

“How did you get out of uniform so quickly?” Shiro wondered.

Pidge’s eyes were narrowed behind her visor. “That bag in Lance’s lap looks familiar...”

Lance looked around. The lions were still in space, frozen shards still floating aimlessly. “What the _hell_?! It's been hours!”

“It's been five minutes! Where did you guys _go_?” Hunk wailed.

“Um.” Keith looked at Lance’s face on-screen, seeing the same trepidation in his expression that he knew was in his own. “Earth?”

Five faces flooded their screens at once. “What?!”

“Uh...” Lance kicked back in his chair, grin lighting up his face. Screw it. “Weren’t we picking up frozen bad guy chunks? Let's finish up and we can meet back up inside.”

Pidge sent them a glare, and Keith was actually terrified for a second. “We can explain everything.” Well, most everything.

“You'd better,” the green paladin retorted.

They helped the rest of the team collect the pieces of the creature, Keith wary about anymore unexpected wormholes popping up even though the thing was decidedly dead. When they made it back onto the ship and exited their lions, they were immediately barraged with questions by the other three paladins.

“How did you get to _Earth_?”

“Why do you have my brother’s bag?”

“Did you bring back any food?”

“Wormhole insanity, your mom gave it to us, and duh! Come on, Hunk, buddy. Your mom gave us a freaking _box_ of candy bars.” Lance unzipped the bag, tempted to just upturn the contents haphazardly, but resisted in deference to the glass spice jars.

Hunk’s eyes widened. “You saw my mom?”

Pidge shifted in front of him. “You saw _mine_?!”

Keith shrugged. “Yeah, we stopped there before seeing Lance’s family.”

“Yeah! We used Keith's bike thing, which is way faster without all five of us. Like holy crow! We made it into town in, like, fifteen minutes!” Lance dug out a chocolate bar, tossing it to Hunk.

He fist-pumped, holding it aloft as though it was holy. “This is such a good day.”

“Okay, but what did my mom say when you saw her?” Pidge asked, stepping forward.

Keith glanced at her, giving her a small smile. “She wanted us to tell you that she loves you and misses you a lot, but that she's proud of everything you've done.” He left out the part where her mom cried when she found out her husband and son were MIA, deciding he would tell her later when they didn't have an audience. “And,” he reached into the bag Lance still had open and pulled out the container of cookies; their integrity was compromised with the amount of jostling the bag had endured, but most of them had remained intact. “She gave us peanut butter cookies to bring back.”

“And you'd better share,” Lance added with a laugh. “She gave us a couple before packing them up, and they're basically awesome.”

“They're also the first things from Earth you've had since we started this,” Shiro pointed out. “You could be biased.”

Pidge rested a hand on the top of the container, holding back tears. “Nope. My mom's cookies are actually the best.”

“So you saw our moms. What about my sisters? How are they? Are they okay? Do they miss me? Did they cry? Oh, man, I hope they didn't cry. I'll start crying. I'm already crying,” Hunk babbled.

“Camila lost another tooth and only got a dollar for it, so she's very offended. And Sabina hopes that you don’t throw up on your ‘poor kitty’ everytime you fly.” Lance shrugged, pulling out a few jars of spices. “But, yeah, they miss you. So does your mom. They say good luck, love you, miss you. All the family bits.”

Keith shook his head fondly, looking down at the floor. Lance was absolutely ridiculous sometimes. “Look, as heartwarming as this all is, it's been a crazy morning. Can we go relax now?”

“Hmm.” Shiro studied the group, the younger four paladins enamored with their gifts or watching him expectantly. “Is everyone still up for the beach?”

Lance threw his fists into the air. “Beach!”

“The beach sounds fun,” Keith agreed. “The princess said they were planning some sort of parade or something?”

“Not a parade.” Her voice filtered into the room from her spot in the doorway; she smiled as she walked closer. “Just a small celebration in the village.”

“Yeah!” Coran popped in behind her, sunglasses on his face and a yellow and black striped swimsuit on. No one was surprised to see the old-fashioned one piece on him, but Lance snorted.

“You look like a bumblebee.”

“A what?”

“So beach, right?” Lance laughed, swinging the bag over his shoulder so he and Keith could put their things in their room. Pidge could get Matt’s bag after. “Let's go, Keith!”

He followed Lance out of the room, grabbing his hand once in the hall. “So we were only gone for a few minutes.” There really was nothing to worry about, then. “That was lucky.”

“I know! We got to see my family, still didn’t miss beach day, and!” Lance spun him close in a move that was honestly a little smoother than he had a right to be. “And you said you love me. I told you it was going to be a good day.”

“You’re only gonna hear me say this once, but you're right. Today has been a good day.” He leaned in and kissed Lance’s cheek. “I have a feeling it’s going to get better, though.”

“You know it. I get to see you in a pair of trunks. Oh, oh!” Arm going around Keith’s waist so his hand could sneak into his pocket, Lance leaned in to whisper, “You should wear your gloves and my jacket when you fuck me tonight.” Lance nipped his earlobe playfully. “Okay?”

Keith was proud of himself that he didn't tripped. “ _God_ , Lance. Okay.” He stepped away briefly before grabbing Lance’s arms and pinning him to the wall, and attacked his neck with lips and teeth.

Lance moaned his appreciation, both hands sinking into Keith’s pocket to pull him closer. This was probably up there as the best day of his life, and that sinful mouth leaving an obvious claim for anyone to see absolutely helped. “Cripes, Keith.”

“Seriously?” Pidge protested behind them. “In the hallway?”

For once, Keith didn't care about getting caught, merely continued nipping at Lance’s skin, reaching out a hand to flip her the bird.

“You guys are the worst.”

Lance laughed breathlessly, nearly giggling like a ten year old. Oh, yeah. Best day ever.

They were ignored by Shiro and Lance had to bite his lip when Hunk gave him a thumbs-up or he really would start giggling. Allura waited until they'd stopped, Keith’s head lifting so their noses could bump together before she stepped into the hall. “Could I have a word before the two of you actually get ready to head down?”

“Uh, yeah, of course.” The color drained from Keith's face as he stepped away from Lance. Were they in trouble?

Lance stayed against the wall, unphased but was at least observant enough to know that Keith was. He laced their fingers together. “Okay. What's up, princess?”

She folded her hands, lips curved. “There's no reason to be nervous, Keith. I only wanted to tell you both that I am glad you were able to go home. I'm also incredibly proud that you didn’t stay. You chose to come back and continue fighting the Galra like the noble paladins you are.”

“Oh.” He prevented himself from blowing out a relieved breath; instead his shoulders visibly relaxed. “Thank you, princess. But we wouldn’t leave you guys.”

“Perhaps not, but there are always those who would. Particularly after this last mission. I know it affected you both.” Lance especially, but she didn't say it and neither paladin was about to comment on it. “Now off to your room to change. We're going to land the Castle of Lions on the beaches.”

“Cool! Instant sand access.”

“We’ll be quick,” he promised, and dragged Lance down the hall into their room. _Their room_. That had _just_ happened that morning. He kissed Lance once the door had shut, pushing him into the wall again.

Lance did giggle that time, tugging Keith as close as he could get him to crush their lips together. “This isn't being quick,” he pointed out between kisses, teeth nipping at Keith’s lower lip.

“Hmm, don’t care.” He wrapped an arm under Lance’s to grasp his shirt in the back, the other moving to his nape, fingertips digging into the skin there. Their lips met forcefully, getting caught uncomfortably between their teeth.

Lance cupped his cheeks, angling his head. “I'm okay with that,” he submitted and let his tongue slide between Keith's lips to deepen their kiss.

Keith sighed into it, letting his tongue dance with Lance’s for a few moments. Eventually he pulled back, smoothing his hands down Lance’s back. “We really should get ready.”

“Yeah.” His lashes fluttered. “Want help changing?”

Laughing, Keith shoved the blue paladin away. “Go put your shorts on, idiot.” He walked slowly over to the pile of clothes he’d brought in earlier, slipping Lance’s jacket off and pulling his shirt off over his head. “I guess if you finish before me you could help.”

Lance zipped into the bathroom and was back before Keith had unbuckled his belt, sunglasses atop his head and flip-flops on his feet. It was amazing what proper motivation could do. He held out his hands and turned in a slow circle, smug smirk back on his face and swim trunks and icy blue. He hadn’t been able to resist the color-coordination. “There, see? All ready.”

“You- How did you change so fast?” Keith walked over to him, gripping Lance’s hips and pulling him back in. He dropped a kiss onto the mark he made on his neck.

“I can do a lot with the right kind of motivation,” Lance hummed, fingers running through Keith’s hair. “Getting your clothes off is a great motivator.”

“Well, let’s not waste any time, then. The others are waiting.”

Lance grinned, happily unhooking Keith’s belt and sliding it through the loops. “Is it weird that everytime I see your dick, my mouth waters?”

“I’m getting used to it.” Since Lance was working on his pants, he started to unstrap his gloves, getting ready to pull them off, only to be stopped by Lance’s hands shooting up.

They curled around Keith’s wrists, his lips going to one gloved palm. “Not yet.”

Keith’s breath hitched. “Okay…? Is this a thing with you? I thought you hated my gloves.”

“I really do,” he agreed. “They are the stupidest things ever, but, holy crow, you have no idea how many times I jerked off thinking about how they'd feel touching me instead.”

“Jesus, Lance.” He lifted his other hand up to brush over Lance's cheek, making sure the fabric was touching his skin. “What _don’t_ you jerk off to?”

Lance shrugged, tipping his head into the touch. “If it's you-related, I've probably jerked off thinking about it.” The belt fell, Lance’s hands returning to Keith’s pants. “A lot of the time, it's just your hands and these dumb gloves.”

“Obviously they're not that dumb if you jerk off fantasizing about them.” He slipped his other hand into Lance's hair, curling it into a fist and lightly tugging. “Show me.”

Lance bit his lip, holding back a grin. It was absurd how arousing Keith was when he got bossy. “What, you want me to jerk-off right now?” He turned his head, pressing another kiss to his palm. “Just for you?”

“Yeah, wanna watch you.” He used his grip on Lance’s hair to tilt his head, exposing his neck to Keith’s lips and teeth again, going back to the same spot, bruising it further. “I want you to come on my gloves that you seem to love so much and then lick it off.”

Lance whimpered, eyes closing at the sting. “Fuck, Keith.” He let go of Keith’s pants to rub himself through the swim trunks, hissing softly at the fabric against his skin. “Got a voyeurism thing?”

He smirked, eyes dropping to watch Lance touch himself through his clothes. “Maybe a little bit. Definitely for you.”

“Yeah?” Lance eased his trunks down just enough to free his length. One hand gripped Keith’s waist to give himself an anchor, the other curling around the base of his length. He took his time, breath a little heavier as heat worked through him. He knew what Keith’s bare hands felt like on him - the fingers not quite as long but slender and blessedly clever. His thumb rubbed against his tip, spreading pre. He was easy and he knew it, letting pleasure tingle in his mind and a soft moan slide past his lips.

“Hmm, yeah, just like that, babe.” The sight of Lance with his hand around himself made Keith’s mouth go dry. He wanted to reach down and stroke him, too, but also just wanted to watch Lance for a little longer before giving in to that urge. “You look so good, Lance. Your dick is so pretty, and it’s just for me.”

“Just... just for you, yeah. _Soy tuyo._ ” Lance moaned again, squeezing Keith’s hip as he squeezed his length. He ran his fingers along the underside, massaging in small circles before gripping himself at the base. His hips rocked, Lance rutting into his own hand.

Keith dropped his hand from Lance’s hair, smoothing it down his back until he could cup his ass, kneading into the flesh with his fingertips. He started to walk forward, pushing Lance carefully towards the bed, and setting him down with legs spread when the backs of his knees hit the mattress. “Come on, babe, let out some more of those beautiful noises. Then maybe I’ll get on my knees for you, let you feel my gloves all over your body while I suck you off.” The filth leaving his mouth startled him, but after seeing what it was doing to Lance, he couldn’t control it.

“ _Ay_ ,” Lance groaned, one hand falling to the bedspread to prop himself up. The thought of pretty Keith between his legs, the praise spilling from him, and the sweet promises - the combination undid him. “Keith,” he moaned. “ _Te amo. Toca me._ ” Whatever would get him what he wanted, Lance’s fingers loose around his length as they stroked in an unsteady rhythm. 

“I’ll give you what you need, Lance, you just have to ask.” He curled his fingers in the hem of Lance’s shorts and tugged them off, wanting to taste the skin between his legs again. He left trails of wet kisses up and down his thighs while his hands held Lance’s hips to the bed.

“I am asking.” Lance lifted his hand from his dick, sliding it into Keith’s hair. Those stupid gloves were so close to his length; he couldn’t help writhing in his grasp. And his mouth was so warm, breath hot and almost torturously ticklish. “ _Toca me_. Touch me.”

“I am touching you.”

“You know what I mean,” he protested. “I want your dumb fucking gloves and your mouth and your _everything_.” Lance dragged his hand through Keith’s hair, tugging gently. “ _Toca me_.”

Keith chuckled at his impatience, finally lifting a hand to wrap around Lance’s cock, squeezing gently; he licked up the underside and lapped at the tip, his hand following the path of his tongue. “You’re gorgeous, Lance.” His other hand dipped down and cradled his balls, making sure the fabric of his gloves was covering them.

Lance moaned his name, loudly and full of appreciation. It felt better than he thought it would. Weird, yeah, but so good. The bizarre combination of fabric and skin was just so completely _Keith_. No one else was big enough of an asshole to pull them off. “Fuck-! Keith!” The hand holding him up slid, Lance’s back hitting the mattress. “ _Me encanta que- que me la mamen_.”

“Hmm, keep talking, Lance. I wanna hear how much you like this.” Keith opened his lips and took Lance in his mouth, sucking lightly and swirling his tongue over the head. A drop of pre invaded his taste buds and he moaned.

The sound he made was somewhere between a yelp and a moan, eyes squeezing shut and head falling back because he just couldn’t watch him another second. Lance tightened the grip in his hair, other hand sliding into the strands to pet encouragingly. “Keith, Keith-” Keep talking was an order he could follow well. “ _Qué rico_. _Eres muy bueno. Muy lindo._ My Keith. Fuck, your mouth.” So warm and wet and he'd barely touched him.

Pulling back, Keith smiled up at Lance, and grabbed his hips to reposition him on the very edge of the bed. He threw a pillow under his knees and took Lance into his mouth again, bobbing his head shallowly and applying the barest hint of suction; one gloved hand held his hips against the mattress to prevent him from bucking up while the other reclaimed its spot on Lance’s ass, fingers dipping in between his cheeks.

He was going to come in, like, ten seconds and really didn’t care. Lance arched his back to get closer to his mouth and give his fingers more room. He tried to bite back a whimper, but made the mistake of looking down. “Why are you so- ah!” He tugged Keith’s hair, the stupid mullet like silk between his fingers and just as awful as the gloves. “So fucking beautiful, jesus, Keith.”

Keith growled at the pressure on his scalp, eyes rolling back as he sucked harder. He let Lance slip out of his mouth again, stroking softly as he laid his cheek against Lance’s thigh. “D-do that again. Pull my hair.” It wasn't a thing he thought he'd be into, but Lance’s fingers felt right at home tangled in his dark locks. “You can be rough with it.” And then he was sinking back down onto his dick, taking more in until he could feel the tip at the back of his throat.

Lance couldn’t find a word in response, both Spanish and English failing him as he adjusted his grip on Keith’s hair and tugged hard. He couldn’t refuse him with his mouth so hot, wet, _good_ around his cock. “Oh my god,” he whined, the hand not tangled in his hair grasping the bedsheets. “¡ _Me encanta_! Keith!”

Taking a deep breath in through his nose, Keith took Lance in deeper, nearly choking himself but groaning around him anyway. He let Lance command him with the hand in his hair, moaned every time fingernails scraped lightly against his scalp. He’d also decided that he wanted Lance to come in his mouth, needed to taste him spilling down his throat. The fingers that had been ghosting along Lance’s entrance until that point now pushed against his hole, too dry to get inside, but enough to massage his rim and encourage his orgasm.

It tore through him, Lance hardly able to utter a desperate warning. “ _Voy_ \- _voy_ \- fuck, Keith, I'm- I can’t-” He came on a wail of Keith’s name, the rough yank of his hair more accidental than planned as his release spilled down Keith’s throat.

Keith gagged, managing to swallow most of it before having to pull back; another spurt landed on his lower lip and he swiped his tongue out to lick it up. He grinned up at Lance, caressing his quivering thighs with his gloves, “God, Lance, you taste so good.” He didn't even recognize his own voice, as used as his mouth was.

Lance slid his hand down to cup Keith’s cheek, trying to catch his breath. His lips were swollen, hair an absolute mess. “You’re just... You’re seriously the most gorgeous guy.”

“You're not so bad yourself,” he replied, even though he was blushing at the compliment. He stood back up, wincing as his painfully hard erection made itself known where his pants rubbed against it. They were half undone with the button slipped through the hole and the zipper still all the way up, and he reached down to finish taking them off.

Lips curving, Lance sat up. He moved the pillow out of the way so he could scoot closer. “Want me to return the favor, pretty boy?” He licked his lips when Keith’s cock was freed, bobbing out and absolutely making his mouth water. “ _Eres muy lindo_ ,” he breathed, trailing a fingertip along his shaft. 

Keith shuddered, combing his hands through Lance’s hair. “ _Yes_ , Lance.” He bent down to press a messy kiss to Lance’s lips, one hand sliding down to cup his cheek. “I love your mouth, please.”

Lance smirked. “And yet you always tell me to shut it.” Humming, Lance fell back and tugged on Keith’s hands. “Hands and knees, buddy. Right on top of me. We're trying something.”

Nodding, he crawled onto the bed over Lance, knees on either side of his waist. He planted his hands on the mattress beside his head, leaned down to kiss him again. “Okay, what did you have in mind?”

“Returning the favor while exploring some angles.” Lance tapped his thighs to nudge Keith up until he was situated how he wanted, his length right above his lips. His fingers trailed over his thighs and up to trace the curve of his hips. “Seriously, bless whoever said you could be this pretty. Pretty and mine.” He lifted to wrap his lips around the tip, his suckle wet, warm, and _greedy_. “How long do you think you can hold yourself up?”

“ _Damn_ , Lance, I don't know.” He shifted his hips closer, nudging the head of his cock against Lance’s lips. “Uh, I can do about eighty push-ups in one go…?”

“Well, hell, now I have to make sure I can do more than that.” Lance huffed, but tilted his head back to look up at Keith and flit his tongue teasingly across the slit. “Or I can just make your arms give out. That'd be more fun.” He lifted up, fingers digging into Keith’s hips as he drank down his cock. It was a lot easier at this angle, Lance humming around him and letting his jaw go lax as he began to draw back. His tongue swirled along the tip, coated in pre, and his eyes closed as he lost himself to Keith’s dick.

“Lance, _fuck_!” Keith tried not to immediately thrust into Lance's mouth, holding his lower body as still as he could. But Lance's _fucking mouth_ was driving him crazy, the way he sucked him down filthy and perfect. “Lance, oh my god, _Lance.”_

Hearing his own name so wrecked had his head bobbing in earnest, Lance saying a hearty fuck off to his gag reflex as he took Keith nearly to the hilt. His cheeks hollowed as he sucked, a hand stroking along Keith’s hip to cup his balls. He sounded like a beautiful mess and tasted better, thick and heavy on Lance’s very mobile tongue. He didn’t want to neglect an inch of skin, aching to hear every single sound he could pull from him.

His arms were beginning to wobble as he started thrusting his hips shallowly, sliding even further into Lance's throat. How the paladin below him wasn't choking on it was beyond his understanding, but he couldn't bring himself to care as he felt Lance swallow around him. “ _Shiiiiit_.” He dropped his forehead to the wall, the pain a dull throb in the back of his mind.

Lance drew back to get a better breath than through his nose, tongue laving over the side of his shaft. “Come for me, _chico lindo. Amo tus gemidos,_ ” he panted. “You sound so good.” With his own moan spilling out, he took Keith’s cock between his lips and just let him thrust.

“ _Hhnng_ , christ, Lance. Your mouth is amazing.” He could feel his orgasm building up in the pit of his stomach as he thrust with abandon, his cockhead hitting the back of Lance’s throat on each downward motion. “I love you. _God, I love you._ I'm- Lance, I'm com-” Keith’s arms did give out on him then, and his upper body went crashing to the bed as his orgasm rushed through him.

Lance swallowed quickly, but he couldn’t quite manage to get all of it. He had to let his head fall back, catching the last of Keith’s come on his face. “You’re so good. _Eres bueno_. My pretty Keith. All mine.” His voice was a little raspy, throat pleasantly abused and lips plump and cherry red, but he didn’t mind. Not when Keith had obviously enjoyed himself. “ _Y soy tuyo._ ”

Keith propped himself up on shaking limbs, groaning when he saw the mess on Lance's face; he shimmied down, laying flat on top of him, kissing him once before licking the come off of Lance's cheeks and chin. “Mm, you taste even better with me all over you.” Then he licked into Lance's mouth, combining their tastes.

Lance moaned into it, tongue tangling with Keith’s. His hands lifted, one resting fingertips over his cheek and the other stealing into his hair. “Wanna learn a filthy phrase?”

“Yeah,” he breathed, starting to kiss down Lance’s neck. “Teach me.”

Lance tugged his hair lightly, very tempted to say something sweet instead. “ _Quiero mamar_. Or _quiero coger_.”

The first one seemed easier for him to pronounce, so Keith tried it out, murmuring it against Lance’s skin. “What does that one mean?” he asked, rising back up to hover over him.

Lance squirmed beneath him. “That was so much hotter than it was supposed to be. The first one was ‘I wanna suck cock.’ The second one’s ‘I wanna fuck.’ Either way...” He cupped the back of his neck, pulling him down for another kiss. “ _Soy tuyo_. I'm yours.”

“ _S-soy tuyo_ ,” he repeated, smiling against Lance’s lips. “I think I’m starting to get the hang of it. _Te amo_.”

“ _Te amo_ too.” Lance bit back a giggle by nibbling on Keith’s lips. “We'll work on your pronunciation, pretty boy.”

Keith glared at him for the teasing but kissed him again anyway. “Looking forward to it.” He was really just looking forward to spending more time with Lance, but would gladly learn his language, especially if he could use it in bed.

“Maybe eventually I'll teach you something that can actually be used outside of our room.” Lance threaded his fingers through his hair. “You should brush your dumb mullet so I can ruin it again.”

“Hmm, too lazy. Don’t wanna move.” He let his arms fall out from under him again, collapsing completely on top of Lance.

Lance laughed, pressing nippy kisses to his shoulder. “ _Vete a la verga culero_. You’re heavy.”

“And you’re… actually really comfy, so stop complaining.” True, he had thought that Lance would be all bony limbs, but he wasn’t, and Keith decided that he could lay there all day. He yawned. “Do we have time for a nap?”

“Probably not.” Lance wrapped his arms around him anyway, content to lay there and stroke his back. “Want to anyway?”

Keith sighed into Lance’s hair, pressing his lips into the space behind his ear. “...yeah.”

“ _Te amo_ , _chico lindo_. Go to sleep.” Lance nuzzled him, humming softly. “We've had a busier day than the guys anyway.”

“Heh, yeah, we have. You should sleep, too.” His eyes slipped shut on another yawn. “Love you.”

Lance couldn’t resist sliding a hand back into his hair, his strokes steady. “I will.” Maybe. “Love you too.”

\----

He didn’t, but he hadn’t been nearly tired enough. The day's events had only left Lance wired. It had been nice, though, to watch Keith sleep. He was completely adorable with his dark hair mussed and falling over his brow, smooth and uncreased in sleep. Maybe it was a little weird or maybe just really sappy, but Keith looked completely adorable snuggled atop him.

Like a kitten, or whatever the equivalent of a baby lion was. He'd have to ask Pidge.

Keith’s nap ensured that they were the last two back up in the control room, though. The Castle was coming in for its landing, Lance’s smile as bright as the sun over the water.

He threw his hands up, the shell bracelet made for him by the village kids clicking lightly. “Beach party! Woo!”

“You’re an embarrassment,” Keith said even as he smiled at him. He took hold of his hand, his own bracelet sliding down his wrist and clacking against Lance’s. “How much longer til we land?”

“If you'd been up here sooner...”

Shiro’s lips quirked. “Pidge.”

She fixed her glasses, biting back her amusement. “Only a few more minutes before touchdown. We're in their atmosphere.”

Keith really was getting excited; he couldn’t wait to take a nice relaxing swim, especially after everything that’d been happening recently. Plus, the thought of Lance sidling up alongside him in the water just sounded pleasant. “Awesome.”

They all braced for landing when Coran let them know they were coming in, but the castle was smooth and they hardly jolted when it touched sand. “Alright, everyone still standing?” Coran checked the bridge, earning thumbs-up from the more enthusiastic members of the team - everyone but Keith - and nodded. “Wonderful! We're good to disembark, princess, if you are.”

“Absolutely. I think we've all earned a relaxing day.”

“Last one in the water is a rotten egg!” Pidge shouted, already sprinting out of the control room.

Hunk raced after her, his flip flops slapping against the floor as he went. His inquiry of “What do you think they’ll have to eat?” echoed back into the room.

Shiro shook his head, smiling at their antics. “You two ready? Lance, I know you’re especially excited.”

Lance laughed, pulling Keith after the other two. “Well, we're not going to be the rotten eggs, that's for sure. Come on, pretty boy. I bet I can hold my breath longer than you.”

“Oh, you’re on.”

When they made it outside, the villagers were there waiting for them with what looked like the equivalent of flowers on this planet. The bouquets were thrust into their arms, and, to Keith’s chagrin, linked around their necks. “Er, thanks.”

“It is us that should be thanking you.” One of the villagers in the throng around them stepped forward, everyone else clearing a path. “You saved us from those monsters. We owe you our eternal gratitude.”

Lance glanced at Keith, smile wide. “That's what we're here for. The paladins of Voltron.” 

“Please, enjoy yourselves. We have prepared a feast for you all later this evening.”

At the promise of food, Hunk’s head popped up from the group of aliens surround him and Pidge. “Feast?!”

“Later, Hunk!” came Pidge’s voice.

Keith chuckled.

“People of Piscpulo,” Allura said from behind them, “we are honored to be your guests, and we are thrilled to have you join the Voltron alliance.” She presented their leader with a communicator, smile warm. “Rest assured that with the paladins of Voltron defending the universe, you will never have to fear having your lands, waters, or families torn apart.”

A chorus of cheers rang out amongst the people, bubbles filling the air and catching the light like diamonds. “Wow,” Lance breathed, a breathless laugh spilling out. “That's really cool.”

“Yeah,” Keith said, mesmerized. His grip tightened on Lance’s hand, and once the aliens focused their attentions on Allura, Coran, and Shiro, he turned to Lance and said, “Come on, let’s go get in the water.”

Lance lifted Keith’s hands to his lips, stepping out of his flip-flops. “Race you,” he decided and took off.

“Cheater!” he shouted, abandoning his shoes and running after him. The sand was warm between his toes, the smell of the water getting stronger as they got closer, but he was solely focused on Lance, his long legs sending him hurtling down the shore and into the water. He barreled in after Lance, tackling him into the surf.

Lance had to swallow a laugh to avoid swallowing water. He rolled Keith, both of them sitting up and gasping for air. He let his laugh unfurl, head tipped back. It wasn’t salt water as he'd been expecting, but wasn’t about to complain about the pristine ocean. Water was water. “I won.”

“Only because you cheated. Again!” He splashed Lance in the face, then leaned in to kiss him before he could open his eyes.

Lance banded his arms around Keith’s back and rolled to submerge them both. He broke the kiss and kicked off the sand, at home under the waves. He surfaced after a minute, toes just barely touching sand, and slicked his hair back. “Hunk!” he shouted. “Stop poking the water with your toe, and get in!”

“Shut up, Lance! This is a process!”

He laughed, grinning Keith’s way. “Come on, pretty boy. Don't let me lose you.”

“You’re a better swimmer than I am, Lance.” He finally made it over to Lance, his kicks in the water causing more splashes than forward momentum. “I’m not gonna be able to keep up with you.” He had to hold onto Lance’s shoulders to help keep him afloat, not able to tread water that well.

Lance cupped his waist, a little surprised but willing to work with it. “Then I'll just have to make sure I don’t lose you. Stop kicking like that. You’re going to overbalance and faceplant in the water. Or just flat exhaust yourself.”

Rather than complain and ask to move back to where he could touch, because he knew how much this meant to Lance, he decided to ask him to teach him. “How do I do it, then?”

“Two choices. Let's go with the easy one first. Keep your feet flat and just move your legs in a circle. Not too fast or you'll overbalance. Just enough to keep you upright.” Lance brushed their lips together, fingers kneading his hips. “Move with the water, _chico lindo_ , not against it.”

“Okay…” He slowed down the movement of his feet and flattened them, doing as Lance instructed. Immediately he noticed a difference, and his legs weren’t getting so tired. He smiled back at Lance. “This isn’t so bad.” Of course, his concentration broke for a fraction of a second and he became submerged when a wave came towards them, breaking the surface with a gasping breath. “I lied. This is the worst.”

Trying to smother his laugh, Lance eased them both closer to shore so Keith’s toes could touch. “Riding the waves is a different lesson entirely. You'd need your arms for it, and I kind of like you having your hands on me.”

“Only kind of?” Keith couldn’t resist teasing him back. “I guess I’ll have to try harder.” As his toes found the sand, he trailed his hands down from Lance’s shoulders to cup his ass and pull him closer.

Lance kissed him lightly, tasting the water on his lips. “That's not bad. What else you got?”

“Plenty, but there are children present.” Keith leaned forward for another kiss, smirking against Lance’s mouth. “You’ll have to wait til we get back to the castle later tonight.”

“Promises, promises, pretty boy.”

“Can you guys seriously not keep your hands off each other long enough to just swim?” Pidge asked, her backstroke more of a lazy kick as she neared them.

“We've been thinking about doing an experiment,” Hunk added, walking more than swimming. “Just to gauge how long before one of you grabs the other. Pidge doesn't have high hopes.”

“And Hunk’s an incurable optimist.”

“I’m with Pidge on this,” Shiro commented, coming to join them, his body slicing fluidly through the water with powerful arm strokes. “They’re never not touching.”

“Thanks, Shiro,” Keith said, but refused to step away from Lance. He was too happy and content to let their comments affect him.

Lance laughed, so happy with the sun on his shoulders and water dripping from his hair. Keith’s arms were secure around him, and his hickey was right there on Lance’s neck. “I know you can’t resist me for long, Keith. It's fine.”

“You’re an as-” A pointed look from Shiro cut off Keith’s retort. “Butt.”

“Better.”

“You're both disgusting.”

“They're not disgusting. They're just... very, very unpleasant and vomit-inducing like- like something that tastes really bad.”

“So... disgusting,” Pidge insisted.

Lance snorted a laugh. “Thanks, Hunk.”

“You guys suck,” Keith said. Taking hold of Lance’s hand, he started swimming away. “We’re going over here now.”

“Keith, no, we're abandoning our space family,” Lance laughed. Plus, his swimming was awkward enough without him holding Lance’s hand.

Lance dove beneath him, letting go of his hand to float beneath the surface. Grateful it wasn’t salt water, he opened his eyes and smiled up at Keith's puffy-cheeked frown. Geez, he couldn’t even hold his breath right. Dork. Stupidly hot still and had his jerk moments, but he was ultimately a total soft-hearted dork.

When Keith surfaced, toes just barely touching sand and gasping for air, Lance came up and wrapped him up in a tight hug from behind. “I knew I could hold my breath longer than you.”

“Shut up, of course you can. What did we just get done talking about?” But he relaxed in Lance’s arms, letting the waves roll gently past them; he could feel Lance’s heartbeat against his back, steady and strong, and he smiled.

“Don’t puff your cheeks out. It'll help.” Lance dropped his chin onto Keith’s shoulder, watching Pidge try and fail to dunk Hunk beneath the surface. Their laughter carried to them easily, Lance’s own snickers escaping when Shiro snuck up and actually did manage to dunk him.

“Don’t drown one another!” Allura called, splashing through the waves towards them, Coran behind her with an actual beach ball held over his head.

It bounced off Shiro’s chest, winding him, so it probably wasn’t exactly like a beach ball, but still. It was new home, new normal. Like being able to hold Keith close and murmur “I love you” in his ear was new normal. It felt just as right as Earth had. It felt just as good as being surrounded by his parents and siblings.

His family still wouldn't know if he lived or died out here, but they knew where he was. They supported what he was doing. They approved of his boyfriend. He wasn’t the family disappointment, the weak spot. He was Lance McClain, paladin of Voltron, defender of the universe, and he was lucky as hell to have two families.

“Are you guys just going to stand there and cuddle or are you playing?” Pidge demanded, arms trembling a little under the weight of the ball.

Lance grinned, kissing just behind Keith’s ear. “What do you think, pretty boy?”

Keith turned his head and smirked at Lance. “Race you there,” he teased, before shoving him, sending him back under the waves with a splash.

Lance flailed when he surfaced, laughing even while he shouted, “You _jerk_!”

He beat him, the cheater, but Lance didn’t mind tackling him even when the rest of the team protested the splash they made.

“ _Lance_!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THAT'S ALL, FOLKS.
> 
> Thank you to every single one of you who stayed with us on this journey! But don't worry: we have many more fics in storage! Look for our new one which we'll begin posting this Friday!!
> 
> Find us on Tumblr!  
> [SylviaW1991](http://syl-writes-stuff.tumblr.com/) & [amycoolz](http://montgomery.co.vu/)
> 
> Fic updates every Tuesday!  
> Schedule:  
>  ~~Ch. 1 - 8/9~~  
>  ~~Ch. 2 - 8/16~~  
>  ~~Ch. 3 - 8/23~~  
>  ~~Ch. 4 - 8/30~~  
>  ~~Ch. 5 - 9/10~~  
>  ~~Ch. 6 - 9/13~~


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